Book • 

/ 7C ]£JjLj 



TWENTY 

SERMONS 

BY THE LATE 

REV. HENRY MARTYN, B.D. 

FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE. CAMBRIDGE; 
AND CHAPLAIN OF THE HON. THE EAST- INDIA COMPANY ON THF 
BENGAL ESTABLISHMENT. 



FOURTH EDITION, 



LONDON: 



SOLD BY L. B. SEELEY, FLEET STREET ; AND 
J. HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY. 

1822. 



iSi 7 



Printed by R. Wiftt^ Csown Court, Temple Bar. 



P RE FAC E. 



One only of the Sermons in this Volume — 
the last, entitled 6 < Christian India" — was 
intended for publication, and was printed 
during the Authors lifetime. The first ten 
were preached on successive Sundays, at the 
Old Church in Calcutta, in the latter end of 
1810, just before his final departure from 
Bengal. Those which follow have been 
selected from a parcel of his Manuscript Ser- 
mons in the possession of the Author's friends : 
these were preached (as appears from their 
superscriptions) at various periods of his 
Ministry. 

The Editors hope that the writings of one, 
who so peculiarly devoted himself to the work 
of God in this country, may be blessed to 
the diffusion of those principles and the nurture 



PREFACE. 

of those affections, by which alone Mis- 
sionary Labours can be sustained. The love 
of Christ constraineth tis : because we thus 
judge, that if one died for all, then were all 
dead ; and that he died for all, that they which 
live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
but unto him which died for them, and rose 
again (2 Cor. v. 14, 15). Animated by these 
principles, Martyn pursued his course. May 
a double portion of his spirit rest on all 
who follow him in the same wide field of 
labour ! 

Tiie desire to know how such a man 
preached, is natural and unavoidable. It will 
be here gratified, so far as respects the style 
and usual strain of his compositions. His 
manner in the pulpit was distinguished by a 
holy solemnity, always suited to the high 
message which he was delivering, and accom- 
panied by an unction which made its way 
to the hearts of his audience. With this 
was combined a fidelity, at once forcible by 
its justice and intrepidity, and penetrating 
by its affection. There was, in short, a power 
of holy love and disinterested earnestness in 



PREFACE. 

his addresses, which commended itself to every 
mans conscience hi the sight of God, 

It is hoped that these Sermons will be 
read with the indulgence usually granted to 
posthumous works. Though they want the 
fine polish which they might have received 
from the Authors chaste and accurate pen, if 
they had been revised by himself for publica- 
tion, the Editors are persuaded that they 
will be read with lively interest; and they 
send forth this Volume, earnestly praying 
that the Author, though dead, may yet hereby 
speak with power to many ; and that the great 
Head of the Church may graciously crown 
the perusal of these Discourses with His 
blessing. 

[Extracted from the Preface to the Fir$t Edition 
printed at Calcutta,'] 



CONTENTS 



SERMON I. 

/ PAGE 

THE ATONEMENT. HEB. IX. 22 ..... • 1 

SERMON IL 

THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF HIS SON. JOHH 

in. 16 27 

SERMON III. 

THE REIGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. ROM. V. 

20,21 .43 

SERMON IV. 

SCRIPTURE MORE PERSUASIVE THAN MIRACULOUS 

APPEARANCES. LUKE XVI. 31 .... 61 

SERMON V. 

THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. PSAL. IX. 17 . . 79 

SERMON VI 

THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART. JER, 

xvii. 9 . . . 99 



( vi ) 
SERMON VII. 

PASE 

TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. ACTS 

xiv. 22 117 

SERMON VIII. 

THE CHRISTIAN WALK. COLOS. II. 6 . . . .145 

SERMON IX. 

PAUL AND FELIX. ACTS XXIV. 25 . . ... 165 

SERMON X. 

invitation of the spirit and the bride. rev. 

xxii. 17 185 

SERMON XI. 

THE NEW CREATURE. 2 COR. V. 17 .... 207 

SERMON XII. 

NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. ACTS* 

in. 26 229 

SERMON XIII. 

st. Paul's description and salutation of 

TRUE christians. 1 COR. 1 — S . . . 253 

SERMON XIV. 

THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 1 COR. I. 

23, 24 271 



( ™ ) 

SERMON XV, 

PAGE 

THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING EPHES. II. 

19—22. . . . . . . . . . . . 303 



SERMON XVI. 

THE TREMBLING JAILER. ACTS 3 XVI. 29 — 31 . 327 

SERMON XVII. 

THE STATE OF NATURE. EPHES. II. 1 — 3 „ . 349 

SERMON XVIIL 

THE STATE OF GRACE. EPHES. II. 4 — 7 . . . 369 

SERMON XIX. 

Christ's grand commission to his apostles. 

matt. XXVIII. 18—20 . . . . . . . 391 



SERMON XX 

CHRISTIAN INDIA. GAL AT. VI. 10 . . . , . 413 



SERMON I. 



ON THE ATONEMENT, 



HEBREWS IX. 22.. 

Without shedding of blood is no remission. 

The confession of mankind respecting their 
need of forgiveness, though in most cases not 
arising from such deep conviction as to lead 
them to seek pardon, is, however, so general, 
and the acknowledgment made so readily, 
that instead of detaining you with proofs of our 
universal sinfulness, we shall for the present 
take it for granted. 

The opinions of men on the way of obtain- 
ing pardon, are far from being so agreeable to 
each other, or to the truth. That great source 
of ignorance, our fancied knowledge, is one 
cause of their mistake ; and want of a thorough 
persuasion of their guilt and danger, makes 
them remiss in their inquiries about the way to 
escape from it. Their natural depravity also 
makes them averse to any consideration of a 

B 



2 



FIRST SERMON. 



religious nature ; and even when the scripture 
is consulted for information on this subject, 
men often bring their own notions and preju- 
dices along with them. In this way, the doc- 
trine of the Gospel appears obscure. 

I. It shall be our endeavour to state the truth 
as it is revealed, and we must begin with 
REMOVING ERROR. 

Without shedding of blood is no remission. — 
Now as there are many modes of remission or 
forgiveness passing current among Christians, 
different from the one in the text, we must 
examine their nature and prove their inemcacy. 

1 . The first, and most general way is, that 
" God is merciful, and man weak ; there- 
fore God will overlook his errors. This> 
as might be expected, is the most favourite way 
among men, because most agreeable to their 
inclinations. 

In the reasoning by which it is attempted to 
be established, we allow the premises, but deny 
the conclusion : we allow that God is merciful 
and man weak ; but we deny that it follows 
from thence that man must be saved. For 
though God is merciful, and must necessarily 
remain so, yet our salvation is not necessary 
to the maintenance of his attribute of mercy : 



THE ATONEMENT. 



s 



he would not lose this attribute were we all to 
perish : if he would, why did he not when 
he destroyed the angels that sinned ? No 
mercy was shewn to them, yet we still say, 
and say properly, that mercy is one of his 
attributes. 

It is allowed that man differs from the angels 
in being weak ; but God did not create him 
weak. God made man upright, in his own 
image : his subsequent corruption is to be 
ascribed to himself ; and can therefore impose 
no obligation on God to alter his laws in order 
to accommodate them to man's weakness. 

If it be urged that the weakness in which we 
are born is not owing to ourselves, we reply, 
That weakness is not so great as to amount to a 
necessity of falling. What man can say with 
truth, concerning any of the sins which he has 
committed, that it was absolutely impossible 
for him to have avoided it ? If he had avoided 
the temptation, or armed his mind with consi- 
deration — the fear of God and his judgements- 
faith in his promises and help — whose con- 
science does not tell him after the commission 
of evil, that he is himself to blame, and not 
his Maker? God, it is true, has given us pas 
sions ; but it is not the use of them that consti- 
tutes sin, but the abuse of them : this abuse of 
them is of ourselves, and therefore God is not 



FIRST SERMON. 



chargeable with our sinful weakness : conse- 
quently no argument can be drawn from thence 
that he will overlook it. If any one injure us 
materially in our property or honour, and, while 
we are suffering from the aggression, should 
plead his weakness of resolution or the strength 
of his inclination to do what he has done, we 
should consider the excuse as inexcusable as 
the crime ; and why we do not apply this rea- 
soning to God, is, because we seldom think 
how offensive sin is to him 

Our weakness, therefore, is no excuse ; and 
if God make laws for us, and denounce punish- 
ments for the transgression and rewards for the 
observance of them, he does only what every 
wise Lawgiver on earth does, who, if he fulfil 
his own threatenings, is not accused of want of 
goodness. 

It might be added, that the goodness of God 
would be so far from being liable to any impu- 
tation by our destruction, that it might probably 
be an act of goodness to the rest of the crea- 
tion, to punish us : as a King, by putting to 
death a number of his people, who are nuisances 
to the rest by their ill conduct, consults thereby 
the benefit of the whole community ; for the 
rest are taught the evil and danger of transgres- 
sion, and fear to offend. 

If, after all, men persist in saying, that they 



THE ATONEMENT. 



5 



can never believe that there is anv hell, or that 
God made us to be miserable, we answer, that 
the same argument would go to prove that 
there should be no suffering in this life 
neither; for this world is as much under 
God's government as the next : we must there- 
fore say, upon those principles, " We shall 
never find any misery in the world — God is 
too merciful to allow it." But let us look at 
the world — Is there no misery, no shame, no 
poverty, no remorse, no disease ? yes, a huge 
army of pains and sorrows over-run the earth, 
and are the consequences of men's sins — the 
natural, appointed, and necessary consequences. 
It cannot be said that these sufferings are 
intended only to correct us, so as to make us 
more careful in future ; for, in all instances 
of capital punishments for crimes, this end 
cannot be answered : when a man is brought 
to the gallows, no one supposes that his 
execution is intended to make him better. 
And it must be observed, that these things take 
place upon earth according to the appoint- 
ment of God: for such instances of punish- 
ments, where men are cut off for ever from 
the community, are confessedly necessary for 
the well-being of the whole, and are therefore 
agreeable to the will of God. Our inference^ 
therefore, is, that, upon whatever principle 



6 



FIRST SERMON. 



God is supposed too merciful to punish sm 
hereafter, upon the same principle it must be 
concluded, that he is too merciful to punish it 
here: which is contrary to fact. 

But we were to speak of Forgiveness, We 
have shewn that it is impossible to suppose 
that God should not punish sin at all ; yet since 
many who would allow that God will punish 
some, that is, the most heinous transgressors, 
yet suppose that the rest will be readily for- 
given, we proceed one step further, and affirm, 
that God never forgives any in the absolute 
exercise of Mercy, independently of any other 
consideration. For Mercy cannot be exer- 
cised to the disparagement of his Truth. If 
therefore he has spoken any thing which is of 
such a nature that the exercise of mercy in 
pardoning would be inconsistent with it, that 
mode of exercising mercy cannot be admitted 
as possible, because it would subject the Deity 
to the imputation of falsehood. Now God has 
said, either literally or virtually, that sin shall 
not go unpunished : and reason, indeed, fur- 
nishes us with the same truth ; for sin is the 
transgression against some law, and there can 
be no law without the sanction of punishment 
annexed to transgression. If, therefore, after 
this declaration of Gocl, that sin shall meet 
its punishment, sin, through the exercise of 



THE ATONEMENT. 



7 



God's mercy find no punishment, how shall 
God he true ? 

2. The next opinion to be noticed, is, that 
" God will pardon us for the sake of 
our repentance." 

But if a debtor express his sorrow to the 
creditor, for having contracted the debt, and 
promise to incur no new debt with him here- 
after, will the creditor be satisfied with this 
declaration ? the debtor's future good conduct 
will be of no advantage to him : he requires 
payment therefore; and, in default of pay- 
ment, will imprison. Or if a criminal acknow- 
ledge before a judge, his sorrow for his past 
offences, and promise amendment, will his 
acknowledgments or his promises arrest the 
arm of justice? by no means: the law must 
take its course, or it may as well be abolished. 
Now God is the Judge of the universe. He 
sitteth upon his throne, judging right : if there- 
fore every sinner, for the sake of his repent- 
ance, must find pardon, disorder would as 
necessarily be introduced into God's moral 
government of the world, as it would be in 
human governments from the same cause. 

A due consideration of this truth would 
tend to remove many erroneous imaginations. 
A father, it is allowed, pardons his child out 
of love to it, and a master his servant, on 



8 



FIRST SERMOX. 



account of his repentance : but God is not a 
father or a master only, but a Judge and a 
Governor. Now a poor and ignorant man, 
brought before a judge, often wonders why he 
might not as well be pardoned and liberated, 
especially when conscious that he should be 
careful to offend no more: these are his 
thoughts, because he is too short-sighted to 
look beyond himself; and to watch the dis- 
tant consequences of indis criminating lenity, 
in its effects on the community at large. We, 
in the same way, think it extremely easy, and 
as certain as it is easy, that God should pardon 
sinners for the sake of their repentance, be- 
cause we consider only our own individual 
case : but when it is considered that God is, 
in the strictest sense, a Judge, as well as a 
father or a master, it becomes a far greater dif- 
ficulty than at first sight it appears, to believe 
that he should pardon men for their repent- 
ance. In addition to what has been said, it 
may be observed, that a judge's peculiar duties 
are comparatively so indispensible, that a man 
in that situation, acting conscientiously, will 
punish a servant, or even his own child v whom 
he would have forgiven if acting only in the 
capacity of a master or father. 

The former considerations also of the truth 
of God, may be again referred to, in evidence 



* 



THE ATOXEMENT. 



& 



against the supposition that Repentance and 
Pardon are necessarily connected. It may 
be asked, as before, if God's Law threatens 
punishment for sin, and makes no provision 
for repentance, which it does not any more 
than human laws, how shall God be true if our 
sins go unpunished 1 

But here it will be asked, "Do not the Scrip- 
tures themselves say, that if we repent, we 
shall be saved ?" Yes, because repentance is 
necessary to our accepting that way of pardon 
which God has provided : but it can no where 
be inferred from Scripture, that repentance is 
the primary cause of our pardon, or that it is 
of itself sufficient. 

3. The third way of obtaining pardon for our 
offences, which we notice, is " the way of 

GOOD WORKS." 

The followers of this way suppose, that future 
good works will make amends for past bad 
ones — that money given for charity, will atone 
for former extravagance — that attendance at 
Church and Sacrament, will make up for past 
profanations of Sabbaths — and that extraordi- 
nary strictness in religious duties, will work out 
the pardon of past remissness. This is the Po- 
pish doctrine of Works of Supererogation. 

But concerning these good works which we 
do, it must be said, that they are either not 



10 



FIRST SERMON. 



commanded of God, or they are: if they are 
not, they are unlawful and unnecessary ; if 
they are, they are absolutely necessary to be 
done at every time in such a sense, that to omit 
doing them is a sin. All the good works that 
can possibly be done in any hour, with all their 
perfection and excellence, belong to that hour, 
and, consequently, the merit of them cannot 
be transferable, to supply the defects of another 
hour : to attempt to do it, is but to cover one 
part of the body with a garment which leaves 
another part naked. 

One of our Saviour's arguments is in point here : 
Which of youhaving a servant plowing , or feeding 
cattle, will say unto him by and bye when he is 
come from the field, Go and sit down to meat ; 
and tvill not rather say unto him, Make ready 
wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself and serve 
me till I have eaten and drank ? After the ser- 
vant has done his work in the field, the master 
does not think himself obliged to shew him 
particular kindness and indulgence, but gives 
him other work ; and when he has finished that 
too, doth he thank that servant our Saviour asks, 
because he did the things that were commanded 
him ? I trow not. So likeivise ye, when ye 
shall have done all those things which are com- 
manded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, 
we have done that which was our duty to 



THE ATONEMENT. 



11 



do(Luke xvii.7— 10) : thatis, " Say," and there- 
fore know, " that if you do every possible good 
work, you have done no more than God com- 
manded you ; and have therefore brought no 
profit to God, any more than a servant, who 
does his appointed duty, brings any gain to his 
master, or lays him under an obligation." 

Upon the whole, then, it appears that neither 
God's mercy, nor our repentance, nor our good 
works, can be allowed to be the way of pardon 
By these, there is no remission. 

II. Yet since it is undeniable that sins may 
be forgiven, we are compelled to adopt the only 
supposition that remains. If it is indeed neces- 
sary for the sake of the truth and justice of 
God, that sin should be punished, and salva- 
tion consists not in our suffering, it immediately 
follows that SOME ONE MUST SUFFER FOR 
US. There seems no possible way of recon- 
ciling Mercy and Justice, Grace and Truth, 
but this. 

Yet, here again, when we search for an Atone- 
ment, not for one sin, but for all the sins of all 
the human race, Reason, not informed by Re- 
velation, must despair of succeeding in its 
search. For sin is an infinite evil : an offence 
against a fellow-creature, an equal, a superior, 
a king— or, again, against a friend, a brother, 



12 



FIRST S Eli MO K. 



a lather — is, in every step, more aggravated ; 
since the offence increases always in proportion 
to the dignity of the person whom we offend, 
and the obligations which we are under to him. 
Hence it must be concluded, that, since the dig- 
nity of God is infinite, and the obligations which 
we are under to him infinite, the wickedness of 
sinners against him is also infinite : therefore if 
Ave suffer for sin in hell, no finite time of suffer- 
ing can be a sufficient punishment for sin : it 
must be for an infinite time — for eternity. On 
the other hand, if our sins are to be cancelled 
by an atonement, that atonement must be of in- 
finite value in order to be equivalent to the evil 
of sin ; and if the atonement be a person, that 
person must be of infinite dignity : but infinite 
dignity belongs only to God. 

In this dilemma, the book of Revelation ap- 
pears for our information and relief: and teaches 
us that the Deity exists in Three Persons, all 
equal ; and that the Second of these, in love 
consented to become the atonement required, 
and the Father accepted it. But as an atone- 
ment for sin implied suffering for it, and the 
Deity is incapable of suffering, not on account of 
any imperfection, but of his absolute perfec- 
tion, it was necessary that he should assume a 
nature that was capable of suffering. This 
might be the nature of angels or of men. It 



THE ATONEMENT IS 

was more proper to assume the nature of men 
than of angels, because the words Thou shalt 
surely die respect the human nature : therefore 
it was necessary that the nature which had 
sinned should die. 

From this time, then, preparation was made 
for the coming of the Son of God into the 
world ; and the promise of his incarnation from 
the seed of the woman was given immediately 
after the fall. 

About this time, also, it appears that God, in 
order to teach man in what way he would save 
such, namely, not without shedding of blood, 
instituted the observance of Sacrifices. It is 
not, indeed, expressly said in the Book of 
Genesis, that God commanded this rite ; but it 
seems extremely evident : for Abel offered a 
sacrifice, and was accepted in preference to 
Cain: but, in the New Testament, it is said, that 
by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice 
than Cain (Heb. xL 4 ): now faith implies a 
divine command ; for where there is no com- 
mand of God, there is no place for the exercise 
of faith. Even before Abel, it seems most 
probable that Adam and Eve offered sacrifices 
by the divine command : for it is said that 
God made them, or prepared for them coats of 
skins, and clothed them (Gen. hi. 21): now as 
animal food was not allowed mankind till after 



FIRST SERMON". 



the Flood, it is not easy to say why these 
animals should be killed, but in sacrifices ; and 
God's clothing them was a lively figure of their 
being clothed with the righteousness of Christ : 
they obtained it not of themselves, it was God 
that gave it to them ; to signify, that the 
righteousness with which our naked souls are 
clothed, is not our righteousness, but the 
righteousness which is of God : and we may 
also conceive that our first parents, who, when 
naked, were clothed at the expense of life, 
might be taught by this, that the covering of 
the inward nakedness of the soul was to be at 
the expense of the life and blood — that without 
shedding of blood is no remission. 

These remarks respecting sacrifices receive 
not a little strength, from the consideration of 
the acknowledged universality of the practice ; 
from the sameness of the manner in which 
the whole world offered these sacrifices; 
and from that merit and expiation which 
were constantly supposed to be effected by 
them. 

The practice has been so general, that it is 
probable, not a single people can be found 
upon earth, among whom it has not prevailed 
at one time or other. Nay, it is surprising to 
observe how general was the custom of human 
sacrifices, unnatural as it is : the ancient Egyp- 



THE ATONEMENT. 15 

tians, Cretans, Arabians, Persians— the inha- 
bitants of ail the Greek and the Asiatic 
Islands — the Romans-— the people of Gaul 
and Germany — all the inhabitants of the north, 
of whatever denomination — the Scythians — 
the various nations upon the Baltic — held it 
as a fixed principle, that their happiness and 
security could not be obtained, but at the 
expense of the lives of others. These accounts 
are handed down by a variety of authors 
in different ages, many of whom were natives 
of the countries which they describe: they 
would not, therefore, have brought so foul an 
imputation on the people in favour of whom 
they were writing, nor could there be that con- 
currence of testimony, were not the history in 
general true. The practice we full well know 
was prevalent in our own island in ancient times, 
when the forests were stained with the gore of 
men dying under the knife of the Druids. In 
modern times, it is seen to prevail : it was found 
in Mexico and Peru, and most parts of Ame- 
rica : in Africa, it is still kept up in the inland 
parts: and, in this Heathen Country, it has 
been the custom, from time immemorial. There 
are particular directions given in their Sacred 
Books, for the ceremonies to be performed at 
the sacrifice of human victims : it is within ten 
years, or less, that the sacrifice of children was 



16 



FIRST SERMON". 



prohibited by the Government ; and little doubt 
can be entertained, that many are yearly sacri^ 
need in the forests of Bengal. 

The Manner of sacrificing animals, among 
all nations, has also been very similar. Both 
among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, the 
victim was to be without blemish or imperfec- 
tion ; and, among the latter people, if the ani- 
mal made any resistance, it was thought a bad 
omen. If thought fit to be offered, they con- 
fessed their sins over the victim, and then slauah- 
tered him. 

Now human reason, even anions: the most 

7 o 

strenuous opponents of the Divine Institutions, 
is allowed to be incapable of pointing out the 
least natural fitness or congruity, between blood 
and atonement — between killing God's crea- 
tures, and receiving a pardon for the violation 
of God's laws : yet this effect of sacrifices, 
when properly offered, was the invariable opi- 
nion of the Heathen. They had also a tradi- 
tionary belief among them, that their animal 
sacrifices were not only expiatory, but vica- 
rious. Commutations, and substitutions, or 
satisfactions, being so remote from, nay, con- 
trary to any lesson that nature teaches, as they 
confessedly are, it seems evident that they ori- 
ginated in a primitive command of God ; though 
certainly carried to a dreadful and unscriptural 



THE ATONEMENT. 



17 



length, when extended to human sacrifices : 
and God has suffered the practice of sacrifice 
in general to continue, perhaps, that the minds 
of men may be accustomed to the idea of re- 
mission through blood-shedding ; and thus be 
more ready hereafter to receive the Gospel, the 
preaching of which is to reveal the Great Sa- 
crifice. 

God continued to order all the affairs of pro- 
vidence, in subservience to the same event. 
All of these we cannot notice, only those 
which are more particularly connected with the 
text. 

Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were 
regular and exact in their sacrifices; and in 
that remarkable instance of Abraham being 
called to offer up his son Isaac, a more clear 
intimation of what God was about to do was 
given, than had ever been given before. Here 
a father was seen offering an innocent son. 
Moreover, the spot where the great event was 
to take place was pointed out : peculiar and 
repeated direction was given to Abraham to go 
to that particular mountain, and no other ; and 
a remark is made in that Chapter of Genesis 
of a proverb that had arisen " In the mount of 
the Lord it shall be seen' (Gen. xxii. 14.) — 
a tradition that would naturally lead men to 
expect something remarkable to take place 

c 



18 



FIRST SERMON". 



there. At last, God separated the family of 
Abraham to be a peculiar people, to shew forth, 
more fully than ever, what was intended to be 
done. 

There had been many typical events, before, 
respecting Christ ; but now, instead of a few 
and insulated notices, as the time approached 
he gives a Law, full of nothing but various and 
innumerable representations, by which that 
nation was directed, every year, month, and 
day, in their religious actions, and in their 
conduct of themselves in their ecclesiastic and 
civil affairs, to shew forth what was coming ; 
one observance exhibiting one doctrine or be- 
nefit — another, another : so that the whole na- 
tion, as it were, by their singular customs, w ere 
preachers and prophets to the rest of the world. 
It is true that the modern Jews and the igno- 
rant ones of old, perceive nothing more than 
the outside of their institutions : but it must 
have occurred to every thinking person among 
them, that mere ceremonies could not have 
formed acceptable sendees to that God who is 
a Spirit. There seems nothing in these minute 
institutions, considered in themselves, that ap- 
pears worthy of the appointment of that wise 
and holy God whom the Jews knew, while the 
rest of the world lay m darkness ; and, upon 
any other hypothesis, it would be difficult, if 



THE ATONEMENT. 19 



not impossible, to account for the particular 
exactness recmired in these services, or for 
Moses' being so strictly charged to make all 
things according to the pattern exhibited in the 
mount, 

We might expect, among a people designed 
by God for such purposes, very precise in- 
junctions about the sacrifice ; and, accord- 
ingly, the Jewish Ritual is full of them — in 
every part proclaiming, without shedding of 
blood is no remission. In the first institution of 
the system, at their coming cut of Egypt, a 
lamb was to be sacrificed by every family, and 
the blood sprinkled upon the upper-lintels and 
door-posts, that they might be saved from the 
destroying angel ; and when the institution 
was complete, the command appeared to be 
that every sin was to be expiated by blood, 
every defilement to be cleansed by blood, every 
sin of ignorance was to be atoned for by 
blood — God forgives no sin without blood : 
hence, did he thus manifestly reveal the in- 
tended way of salvation by blood. The Man- 
ner, also, of the sacrifice among the Jews, 
unfolded a great deal more of what was to 
come, than the same rite among the Heathen ; 
as we should, indeed, expect : the animal was 
not to be a wild beast, or unclean one ; but 



20 



FIRST SERMON'. 



tame, eatable, sociable, valuable, male, and m 
the prime of life : they were to be offered 
voluntarily by the persons ; to signify, that, in 
order to find acceptance through the great 
atonement, we must depend cordially and sin- 
cerely upon it: lie who offered the sacrifice 
was to lay his hands on it, confessing his sins ; 
which imported his belief, that his sins were to 
be forgiven by his transferring them to another : 
after the death of the animal, the blood was 
sprinkled round about the altar, and toward 
the mercy-seat ; this marked the virtue of the 
atonement, to satisfy God and open the way 
to his mercy : the washing of the sacrifice was 
to denote Christ's purity— the burning of it, his 
sufferings — the holy fire consuming it, denoted 
the wrath of God descending upon him. 

In the various ceremonial defilements, con- 
tracted by touching unclean animals or dead 
bodies, or by leprosy or certain other diseases, 
the rites prescribed denoted purification by 
blood. Now, certainly, there is no obvious 
connection between purification and blood : if 
water had been used, it might have been said 
that its natural efficacy in cleansing was adopt- 
ed, as an emblem of that power which cleanses 
the soul ; but why blood-shedding should be the 
emblem of cleansing power, is unaccountable 



THE ATONEMENT. 21 

on any hypothesis but this — that the death of 
some great propitiation was to be the means 
of purifying the soul from guilt and sin. 

The carnal Jews saw but little of the mean- 
ing of these things, as might be expected ; for, 
in all ages, the bulk of men seldom look be- 
yond the outside of things. God therefore, 
in wonderful wisdom, makes use of their 
blindness to speak still more plainly of the 
thing intended. While they depended on 
their outward observances he tells them, Every 
beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon 
a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the 
mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are 
mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; 
for the world is mine, and the fidness thereof. 
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood 
of goats? (Ps. 1. 10— 13). This should have 
naturally led them to consider, that, if God 
speaks so slightingly of the efficacy of merely 
literal sacrifices, while yet they were so strictly 
enjoined, it must have been their representing 
power and meaning that constituted their use. 
Again, an unknown person is introduced in 
the Fortieth Psalm saying, Sacrifice and offer- 
ing thou didst not desire: burnt-offering and 
sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said 1, 
JLo, I come ! in the volume of the Book it i$; 
tvritten of me. 



22 



FIRST SERM0I", 



While the Law and the Psalms were thus 
gradually and harmoniously opening the way, 
and preparing the minds of men for the great 
blood-shedding, the Prophets' Writings, from 
age to age, kept pace with them, in unfolding 
more and more of the designs of God. Isaiah, 
at last, rapt in future times, sees Him as already 
come ; and speaks of one who hath borne our 
griefs and carried our sorrows; who was 
wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our 
iniquities ; brought as a Lamb to the slaughter; 
for the transgression of my people teas he stricken 
(Is. liii. 4—8). Here is remission by the shed- 
ding of blood ! After him, Daniel says, After 
three- score and tiro iveeles, Messiah shall be cut 
off, hut not for himself (Dan. ix. 26). 

More plain notices than these were scarcely 
necessary ; and very few more were given till 
the Desire of all Nations came ; who, after ful- 
filling every prophecy, one after another, by 
his birth, life, and miracles, finished the great 
work for which preparation had been making 
all along from the beginning of the world, by 
the sacrifice of Himself on the Cross, where he 
shed his blood, for us, and for many, for the 
remission of sins. The Jewish Ritual was now 
no more necessary : it had done its work, and 
was therefore abolished : and it is now more 
than one thousand seven hundred years since 



THE ATONEMENT. 



23 



Temple and Sacrifices have ceased. The ge- 
neral way of salvation preparing for all man- 
kind, was published to all the world. 

Thus the true way of pardon was opened, 
when neither God's mercy, nor our repentance, 
nor our good works could avail. Now God's 
mercy can be exercised, without detriment to 
his truth and holiness. He can be gracious and 
kind to sinful man — yet he can be true — yet he 
can be holy. Sin meets a dreadful punish- 
ment — yet sinners are saved. God can be 
merciful to us— -yet his truth and holiness ap- 
pear awfully displayed in the agonies of his 
Son, for the expiating of our sins. 

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter 
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus— Let us 
draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of 
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil 
conscience (Heb. x. 19. 22). If God, with such 
care, such forethought, such preparation, has 
been providing an Atonement for you, it cannot 
be that he should disappoint hopes humbly 
placed on that atonement ; and we are autho- 
rised to say, that if any man in the world will 
come for salvation from his sin in this way, he 
shall find it— for the blood of Jesus Christ 
cleanseth from all sin (1 John i. 7). On the 
other hand, I leave it to yourselves to con- 



24 



FIRST SERMON. 



sider, whether, if after all that God has 
been doing, not for himself, but for you — and 
Christ, not for himself, but for you — you still do 
not make it your business to use that atone- 
ment for the purposes for which God has de- 
signed it, by obtaining the pardon of your sins 
and being delivered from this present world, is it 
likely that God will bear with such neglect ? — 
or listen to any other foolish and pretended 
way of recommending yourselves to his favour? 
If you had never heard of all that he has been 
doing for you, the case were different : but God 
has now declared it to you. Brethren, if we 
sin wilfully after ice have received the knowledge 
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice 
for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judg- 
ment and fiery indignation which shall devour 
the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law 
died without mercy, under two or three wit- 
nesses: of how much sorer punishment suppose 
ye shall he he thought worthy, who hath trodden 
under foot the Son of God; and hath counted 
the Mood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanc- 
tified, an unholy thing ; and hath done despite 
unto the Spirit of Grace ! (Heb. x. 26—29). 

III. Many important REMARKS might be 
made on the subject which we have been con- 



THE ATONEMENT. 25 

sidering, if time would permit us to enlarge : 
but we can only observe, How irresistible 
are the evidences, not of Christianity only, to 
the confusion of Infidelity, but of that real and 
scriptural account of it, by which it appears to 
be the developing of a Plan of Salvation in the 
way of Atonement ! 

And since we have been tracing the works of 
God in this affair from the beginning of things 
to this day, it is natural to look forward to con- 
sider its probable effects on the world to the 
end of time. Surely when it is fairly unfolded 
to the blind votaries of superstition, among 
whom there are many, no doubt, in sincerity 
groping for the true way, and are practising 
austerities on their bodies and undergoing suf- 
ferings for salvation, which the Son of God has 
borne in his own body, they will perceive the 
wonderful fitness and suitableness of the true 
remedy to the necessities of sinful man. It is 
not for us to say whether all will believe : but 
the Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached 
in all the world, for a testimony among all 
nations, and then shall the end come. 

But, whatever shall be its effect on others, let 
us be careful, Dear Brethren, to secure an in- 
terest for ourselves in this great Salvation; 
tjbat when all nations shall be gathered before 



26 



FIRST SERMON. 



him, we may be numbered among the ransomed 
of the Lord. Now, unto Him that loved us, 
and ivashed us from our sins in his own blood, 
and hath made us kings and priests unto God 
and his Father, to Him he glory and dominion 
for ever and ever, Amen ! 



SERMON 11 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT 
OF HIS SON. 



john iii. lS. 

God so loved the world, that he gave his only- 
begotten Son, that whosoever helieveth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

When we wish to express strong feelings, 
or excite particular attention, we are apt to 
go for words to the extremities of time, space, 
and being. Thus, when the Apostle John 
would communicate to us the thought under 
which his own mind laboured, namely, the 
incalculable number of the remarkable things 
Christ said and did, he expressed it by saying, 
that if they were written every one, he sup- 
posed the world itself could not contain the 
hooks that should be written. In the Book of 
the Acts, Moses is described to have been in 
his childhood beautiful to God, as it is in the 
original; the meaning of which is, as it is 
rendered, exceedingly beautiful. Whenever 



28 



SECOND SERMON. 



men are in transports of passion, they go, for 
terms of endearment or expressions of anger, 
beyond the little sphere in which their thoughts 
circulate when their tempers are quiet: a 
man furious with anger is never easy, nor 
seems to have expressed the feelings of his 
heart, till he has brought on something about 
God, his soul, and the word which is used to 
denote its everlasting misery : flinging about 
firebrands and death, he seems, during the 
existence of the paroxysm, to be endued with 
supernatural strength : he is like those furious 
spirits, of whom it is feigned, that they plucked 
up mountains by the roots, and hurled them 
at one another. It appears, then, that strong 
feelings and vivid conceptions, are generally 
efforts to reach beyond created being and 
finite duration. It is natural therefore, con- 
versely, that the same emotions should in their 
turn be excited by the mention of all the great 
things that belong to religion. 

We make these observations, that our minds 
may be duly prepared for the consideration of 
this text ; which, besides the important matter 
contained in it, is remarkable for bringing into 
notice such persons and things only, as are in 
their nature at the very summit of being and of 
thought. The persons introduced are God, and 
Christ, and the whole world, and none else— 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN' THE GIFT OF HIS SON. 29 

the subjects treated about, are endless happiness 
and misery, and nothing less. 

I. The first word that meets us, as we ap- 
proach the text, is GOD ! 

The name of God is heard by different men 
differently. 

The Heathen hears it, without any emotion 
at all. He has been accustomed to attach the 
idea to some inferior being, who surpasses 
him in power, not in purity — to one who can 
sport, and play, and sin. He has been used 
to listen to songs, in which the praises of 
his God and all manner of obscenity are mixed 
up together — at least, transitions are made from 
one to another so readily, that the poor idolater 
cannot suppose that they are very unsuitable to 
each other. Of such a being's future judgment 
for sin he cannot be afraid ; nor feel more at 
hearing his name, than at hearing of any other 
"unimportant thing. 

Not so the man brought up in a Christian 
Land. He may be a profane man; and may call 
upon the Almighty as often as he is surprised, 
without thinking of God at all : he may hear 
others do the same with equal indifference: 
but, at the serious mention of the Sacred Name, 
some awful thoughts will come over his mind : 
and he will think of a mighty Being, who 



30 



SECOND SERMON. 



created him and can destroy him : his thoughts, 
though indistinct, as they ever must be in ail, 
will correspond to the accounts which the 
Scriptures give of his Majesty, as being the 
first and the last — the only self-existent Creator 
and Governor of all — dwelling in inaccessible 
light, yet present every where, and knowing 
every thing. Conceptions of a being of this 
kind, allow nothing light and trifling to be 
connected with them. Moreover, the most 
thoughtless among us cannot help believing 
God to be a holy being : they know, also, that 
there is a judgment to come, and conscience 
tells them they are not prepared for it: hence, 
the mention of his name makes them uneasy, 
and they will compose their minds and give 
attention when something is said about God, 
but they are prepared to hear something which 
is sure to be disagreeable, Disagreeable or 
not, it cannot be unimportant. 

II. The sentence, therefore, having begun 
with the name of God, let us go on to see what 
else may be said in it. God so loved. Love! 
Does God love 1— can God love ? This soft 
affection is found among creatures ; and in exact 
proportion to its extent and power, do peace and 
harmony prevail : when we love, and are loved, 
we are ourselves happy and make others so. But 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF HIS SOX. 81 



can it be said of God, that He loves? — of him, 
whom you represent as a jealous God — a great 
and dreadful God, who cast down the angels , 
and reserves them in everlasting chains unto 
the judgment of the great day, and will turn 
the nations into hell if they forget him? Yes^ 
though he has done these things, and must do 
them again, yet he loves. You will wonder 
how such opposite attributes, as love and un- 
bending justice, can consist together; or else 
will begin to suspect that the love of God, of 
which we are speaking, is only the love which 
he feels for those who are worthy of it. 

III. Let us advance a step farther in the text, 
and see: — God so loved the world — the world 
of which St. Johnsaith, that it lieth in ivickedness. 

No sign of worthiness appears here — We 
were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, 
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in 
malice and envy, hateful and hating one another 
(Tit. hi. 3.) ; that is, detestable ourselves, and 
detesting one another: nothing amiable appears 
yet. But, perhaps, they still retained some re- 
spect for God, though they were so full of hatred 
to one another: but the Lord looked down from 
heaven, and behold, there was none doing good, 
nonotone (Ps. xiv. 2, 3)— every imagination of the 
thoughts of the heart was only evil continually 



32 



SECOND SERMON. 



(Gen. vi. 5). It was not the mere infirmity of 
nature that led men into such an extent of 
depravity, but radical enmity in the heart. The 
heart, in its natural state, is not merely an enemy 
to religion, but enmity itself against God, being 
made up of malice and ill-will, and spiteful 
opposition to God for imposing the restraints 
of his laws upon us and preparing a place 
of punishment : we accounted him unjust and 
tyrannical : we would rather he were less holy, 
and still more that he did not exist at all. 
Now God, we are sure, must have been privy to 
these thoughts : had we attempted it, we could 
not have concealed them : his eye is fixed on 
the heart : he knows, and ever has known, all 
that is passing there ; is fully acquainted with 
the malignity of every thought. But perhaps 
God thinks more lightly of these things than we 
would have it understood that he does ; and if he 
had punished them, the punishment would not 
have been very terrible : but you will notice 
one expression of our text, that they should not 
perish. The idea of perishing leaves no room 
for that of recovery. Absolute ruin, then, 
would have been the consequence, if justice 
had taken its course. 

Thus we need not go beyond our text, to 
find proofs of our being unworthy of God's 
love. When he undertook to introduce a new 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF HIS SOX. 83 

dispensation whereby men might be saved, he 
found them perishing. % But, in the government 
of a good and righteous God, no creature 
could have perished without deserving it. If 
men deserved to perish, they could not be 
worthy of his love. 

Possibly this thought may occur to some — 
that men fill so high a place in the universe, 
that the preservation of them might be an 
object of importance ; that perhaps God might 
take measures for preventing their excision, in 
order to preserve the integrity of his universal 
empire. 

But, alas! the earth, with its grandeur, is 
but a speck before God. Could then the 
destruction of it, with all its inhabitants, dimi- 
nish ought of God's glory ? — would there not 
remain multitudes enough of holy creatures, 
yea of millions of worlds, to glorify him ? Or 
if we were to suppose the whole universe, with 
all its wonders, to be blotted out and brought 
to nothing, would not He remain the same Great 
God, infinitely happy in Himself alone ? — could 
he not, if he pleased, call forth another world 
with the same ease as when he spake this into 
being ? But, in truth, so far is the salvation 
of men from being necessary to God's glory, 
that he would have been glorified by our 



34 SECOND SilRMON". 

destruction: as our earth sunk in ruins, the 
inhabitants of heaven might praise God, in the 
same strains as those in which they will praise 
him at the fall of his other enemies ; for thus 
they will sing in heaven, at the final execution 
of judgment — We give thee thanks, O Lord 
God Almighty, which art, and ivast, and art to 
come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy great 
poiver, and hast reigned (Rev. xL 17) — and 
again they glorify him for the ruin of his ene- 
mies — Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord 
God Almighty ; just and true are thy ivays, thou 
King of saints (Rev. xv. 3). Thus might the 
song of triumph be sung at the destruction of 
the race of men. They might have sung as 
we perished, Just and true are thy ways ! 

If then God was under no obligation to do 
any thing for us, but, on the contrary, might 
have justly left us to perish ; if he might in 
righteous judgment have sent indignation and 
wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of 
man (Rom. ii. 8, 9) because they were enemies 
and rebels — there is no way of accounting 
for his being willing to save us, but by saying, 
that he chose that it should be so. It was mere 
sovereign grace, that moved him to have com- 
passion on us. He might have left it undone 
with perfect justice, propriety, and honour to 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF HIS SON. 35 

himself — that he has done it at all, in any 
manner, is an interposition unexpected and 
extraordinary. 

IV. If it is an act of mercy that God should 
suspend our punishment, what shall we say 
then, when God hath so loved the world as to 

GIVE HIS ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON? 

He loved us ; but could not resign his rights* 
or put up with a partial fulfilment of his will ! 
A Person must be found capable of bearing 
the sins of men : and where was such an one, 
but in the bosom of God himself? If God will 
save sinners, he must give none other than His 
Own Son ! His love to the world may be great, 
but will it draw from him a gift like this ? 

Take now thy son, said God to Abraham, 
thine only son, wliom thou lovest, and offer him 
up there : this was the severity of the trial, that 
Abraham was to give up his only-beloved child. 
We pretend not to define accurately the relation 
which subsists between the Father and the 
Son : so far we may be certain from these 
names, that Christ is at least as dear to his 
Father, as a child to an earthly parent, If this 
be the case, can the Father give him ? Is there 
any example of such generosity on earth, that 
we may be encouraged to hope ? Was ever a 
person known to give his fortune to another s 



SECOND SERMON. 



who had no claim upon him ; or to give the 
life of one of his own children, for the sake of 
a friend ? much less would he do it for the sake 
of a person indifferent to him — still less for 
one wiio had used him ill — still less if he w as 
still raging with enmity — least of all would he 
give an only child, for such a person, in such 
circumstances. To do any, the least of all 
these things, would argue a most unaccountable 
regard, when so many obstacles cannot prevent 
its exercise. 

But what ! can the felloiv of Jehovah (Zech. 
xiii. 7) be given to man 2 Shall He, who is 
God, equal with the Father, God over all, 
blessed for ever — shall the Alpha and Omega, 
the beginning and the ending, ivhich is, and 
which ic as, and is to come ; shall he leave his 
glory, and sojourn with mortals? Must the 
Ancient of Days put on a mortal tabernacle ? 
What fellowship hath light with darkness? 
what agreement between dust and glory ? Will 
the Father consent that one of the Persons of 
the Blessed Trinity be thus debased ? " No !" 
he might say, " if this be the only condition, 
let them perish I" 

But God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only-begotten Son. Herein is love, not that we 
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son 
to be the propitiation for our sins, ( i John iv. 1 0). 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF HIS SON. 87 

Herein is love, as if there were love in no- 
thing else. May we not say, that to give us 
a bein£ anions: rational creatures — therein is 
love ; to have our life carried on so many years 
as a taper in the hands of providence — therein 
is love ; to have food, and raiment, and kind 
friends — therein is love ; to give us heaven— 
therein is love ? No ! herein is love, that God 
gave his Son. He gave him unasked for: man 
would never have conceived such a request ; 
or, if he had, he would not have dared to urge 
it. God foresaw how His Son would be treated ; 
yet he gave him, notwithstanding, to shame and 
to spitting, to pain and to sorrow, to a suffering 
life and disgraceful death; for so God loved the 
world — such anxiety, such desire, and concern 
was there in the heart of God, for the salvation 
of sinners ! 

V. The further we advance in the text, the 
more conspicuously will this truth appear. God 
gave his Son, that whosoever belieyeth in him 

SHOULD NOT PERISH. 

The plan of salvation by Jesus Christ, is al- 
together peculiar : in it men are considered as 
all alike perishing — as well the virtuous as the 
profligate ; because they have both broken that 
Law which allows of no violation, and provides 
no remedy. But, the Son of God having ap- 



38 SECOND SERMON, 

peared on the theatre of the world and suffered 
the penalty due to us, God sends forth this 
message into the world, and at this moment is 
delivering it to you, that he is willing to grant 
pardon and bliss to the sinner, who comes to 
him through Christ. Whosoever will venture 
to rest the whole weight of his concerns for 
eternity on this rock, shall find that it will not 
fail him : whosoever, pursued by avenging jus- 
tice, will flee to this city, shall be safe — yea, 
if he be a murderer, he shall be safe : whoso- 
ever believeth — it matters not what he has been, 
only let him be convinced that he deserves 
punishment, and plead the death of Christ — the 
sentence of death shall be reversed, and a free 
pardon granted — he shall not perish, as he 
otherwise world have done — he shall not pe- 
rish, though Satan would persuade him that he 
will — he shall not perish, though his remaining 
sinfulness threatens him every moment. He is 
kept by the power of God through faith (1 Pet. 
i. 5), and therefore he shall not perish. 

The common objection of cavillers, here ob- 
trudes itself — " Is not this the dangerous doc- 
trine of salvation by faith only?" Would to 
Gcd that they who thus idly speak would con- 
ceive rightly of their guilt, corruption, and dan- 
ger! If they saw themselves on the brink of 
everlasting perdition, where they all are 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF WIS SOX. §9 

by nature, they would no longer think of their 
works as meriting favour or purchasing an in- 
terest in Christ, but would cry, Save, Lord, or 
I perish / they would then see that if pardon 
be not by faith only, they are lost. They sup- 
pose we lay stress on faith, in contradistinction 
to other good works ; whereas it is only an act of 
the mind, whereby it gives up all hopes founded 
on itself, and reposes on the mercy of God in 
Christ. May the sinner after this live as he 
will, or does he wish such a thing? Perish the 
thought ! There is such a word as Gratitude in 
his vocabulary. Knowing why Christ came, it 
is his business to become more holy from day to 
day ; and for this purpose the Spirit of God is 
given him. 

But we are unwilling to pass the time 
in answering objections. It is a disgrace to 
Luman nature, that any should be found quar- 
relling with that way of salvation, which has 
originated solely in the transcending mercy of 
God. Yet so it is : how many in the world 
never understand or believe that it is the savor of 
death unto death to them (2 Cor. ii. 16). Many 
others there are, who have indeed no objections 
to make, but love sin too well to forsake it for 
Christ. Oh, think a moment of your abomi- 
nable selfishness and base ingratitude ! If God 
spared not his own Son but gave him up for 



40 



SECOND SERMON. 



you, why should you refuse to resign any thing 
at the call of God ? 

Let those who believe in Christ remember 
that they are warranted to expect every real 
blessing ; such as assurance of pardon, heavenly 
mindedness, every thing consolatory, sanctify- 
ing, and adorning: for he that spared not his 
oivn Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
shall he not with him also freely give us all 
things ! (Rom. viii. 32). All is your's, for ye 
are Christ's. If God has parted so freely with 
that, which is so far dearer to him than any 
thing else, how shall he deny you any thing 
afterward? if he has so freely given you the 
greater mercies, how can you suppose he would 
deny you the less ? And if he has given you 
this gift when you were alienated from him, it 
is not to be imagined that he will deny you any 
inferior mercy when you are in a state of amity 
with him. If when we were enemies, we were 
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much 
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his 
life (Rom. v. 10). 

Oh what numerous, connected, well-secured, 
precious, and everlasting blessings and joys 
have we in our Lord Jesus Christ ! Let us 
recur, with gratitude ever new, to the glorious 
theme ; and take a view of it in its lengths, and 
breadths, and depths, and heights — let us pro- 



THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE GIFT OF HIS SOX. 41 



claim to all around, the glad, the glorious, the 
joy-inspiring news of a Saviour born — let us 
blow the great trumpet, and make it known 
among the nations that the year of Jubilee is 
come. Come, ye sinners, draw near to the 
fountain of living waters : drink, drink deep of 
the sacred stream, drink in eternal life. When 
millions of years shall have passed away, your 
joys will be but beginning ; and when millions 
more shall have passed away, they shall be no 
nearer ending. 

Let us, then, join the choir of angels, and 
adore, with songs of highest praise, the love 
and mercy of our God. Let there be a new song 
in our mouths and in our hearts, even praises 
to our God. Let our meditation of him be sweet; 
and let our souls, which he hath redeemed, 
rejoice in God our only Lord. 

While also we are rejoicing in the bounty of 
God, let us delight to imitate it. God gave his 
Son to them who had no claim : hesitate not to 
give to those whose helpless penury is a claim 
upon you. Give liberally, give cheerfully : so 
all the Christmas Song will belong to you — you 
will have a right to sing, not only Glory to 
God in the highest, but Peace on earth, and 
Good-will toward men 1 



SERMON III. 



THE REIGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. 



ROMANS V. 20, 21 . 

Where sin abounded, grace did much more 
abound ; That as sin had reigned unto death, 
even so might grace reign, through right- 
eousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

The subjects which St. Paul treats of in his 
Epistles are so purely matters of Revelation, 
and his mode of illustrating and confirming 
them so much out of the beaten track, that 
often it requires no common attention to dis- 
cern his purpose, or to follow where he leads. 
Eut, in this Chapter, his object is evident. 
Whether we have strength of mind, or not, to 
comprehend his reasoning, we may take the 
conclusion to ourselves, and thank God : for 
one more sweet and consolatory, was never yet 
heard upon our earth. 

Here let us observe, that inferiority to others 
in intellect shall not be any loss to us in eternity. 



44 



THIRD IERMON. 



The philosopher reasons about the rain, and 
finds out the cause of it — another cannot reason 
at all, but shares in the benefit notwithstanding. 
In the study of Revelation, some are delighted 
with a series of truths, the order and connec- 
tion of which they see and follow — others are 
contented to be carried in the dark, knowing 
that they shall alight at last on a place where 
they are sure of their ground. 

In this Chapter, a comparison is instituted 
between the miseries entailed on us by Adam, 
and the benefits obtained through Christ. It 
is shewn that as death entered into the world 
by sin, so it passed upon all men by sin : not 
their own sin, indeed ; for though there was 
such a thing as sin in the world from the time 
of Adam till the giving of the Law by Moses, 
it could not be imputed to the sinner while 
there was no Law : for if there be no rule, 
there can be no transgression of a rule — never- 
theless death reigned all that time, seizing all 
as it did Adam. Now as death must be a 
penalty due to sin, of what sin was it the 
punishment but of Adam's ? Correspondent to 
all this is the salvation by Christ. As by one 
mans disobedience many ivere made sinners, so 
by the obedience of one shall many be made 
righteous. This is St. Paul's own statement 
of the doctrines of imputed sin and imputed 



THE REIGNS OF SIN" AND OF GRACE. 45 

righteousness. The Laiv, he adds, entered, that 
the offence might abound — the rule was given, 
that the obliquity of men's actions might appear : 
but w here sin abounded, Grace did much more 
abound; in order, that, as sin hath reigned 
unto death, even so might grace reign, through 
righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ 
our Lord. 

I. Let us consider THE REIGN OF SIN; and 
then the Reign of Grace. 

From the fall of Adam, we must date the 
commencement of the Reign of Sin. The 
instant it was admitted into the world, it 
assumed sovereignty ; and, to such a dreadful 
extent has it succeeded in establishing its em- 
pire, that there is not a human being which 
it does not claim as its subject, from the instant 
of its birth. Nor are its claims disputed. All 
yield themselves at first quietly to its govern- 
ment; and the greater part are zealous in 
supporting its cause, when any symptoms of 
discontent appear in others. 

This has been the state of things from age to 

age. Men differ from one another, in country 

and complexion, in civilization, temper, and 
habit; but all have this prominent feature in 
their character, that they are devoted to sin. 
The most untutored have learned to do the 



46 



THIRD SERMON. 



work of this master ; and the most correct hare 
not unlearned it. Men quarrel and fight about 
forms of government ; but they never attempt 
to dispute the authority of sin. It is absolute 
despotism, and yet the most high-spirited sub- 
mit without a murmur. So firmly is its 
authority fixed, that, while the institutions of 
men have fallen into decay and their cities and 
empires been swept away, sin has not lost its 
power and strength. Conquerors have risen 
up and overturned governments ; but they 
never shook the empire of sin. Philosophers 
have professed to be disaffected — they wrote 
and gave lectures — they collected followers, 
and made a great shew of doing something for 
men, of breaking their fetters and setting them 
at liberty ; yet nothing was done : and no won- 
der, for there is no reason to believe that the 
sages were warm in the cause. They were 
more anxious to diminish its influence in the 
world, than to eject it from their own hearts. 

However wide- spreading the dominion of 
sin may be, its power is as much felt by each 
individual, as if it were all concentrated against 
him. A servant stands more in awe of his 
master than of the king of the country; at 
least he is more often reminded of his subjec- 
tion to the one than to the other. Sin, there- 
fore, completes its tyranny by seizing, and 



THE REIGNS OF SIX AND OF GRACE. 47 



possessing for its own use, every member of the 
body, and every faculty of the soul, and making 
them serve and obey. Many times, in the next 
Chapter, this is intimated : Ye ivere the servants 
of sin : Ye have yielded your members servants to 
uncleanness and to iniquity, unto iniquity. Again, 
it appears from the twelfth verse, that sin 
naturally reigns in our mortal body, and we 
obey it. 

It is to little purpose to urge the number of 
benevolent actions which natural men do, as if 
in some things they were not under the influence 
of sin, because it must be recollected that every 
defect is sin. There is no standard of right 
and wrong existing, but the Law of God, and 
that requires perfection. Measured by that 
rule, therefore, imperfection is sin. What is 
there then, that we can do, or say, or think, in 
which the power of this principle is not felt in 
a greater or less degree ; and if it maintain that 
ascendancy in the heart, which it has by nature, 
what can proceed from it but that which is sin- 
ful ? In that state, our motives and purposes, 
our imaginations and desires, our words and 
deeds, in short every thing that we do and 
every thing that we say is all wrong, all sinful, 
wicked, and displeasing to God. 

To view the Reign of Sin in its true nature 
and fullest extent, we must notice two other 



43 



THIRD SERMON. 



words of the text : unto death — sin hath reigned 
unto death. 

We need not stay to notice all the other 
miseries brought on us by this tyrant — the havoc 
and ruin, the devastation and desolation, which 
mark its way — the terror and dismay, the grief 
and pain, which it occasions to individuals — 
the curse, and vexation, and rebuke, the sword, 
the blasting, and the mildew, which it brings 
upon nations ; and the rest of human evils : for 
there is not one which sin has not caused. Let 
us think of Death : sin has caused the death of 
the whole man — body and soul ! 

Think of all the circumstances attending 
death — with what an agonizing struggle often 
the soul and body part — and how loathsome 
the body instantly becomes, and frightful in 
appearance — what sorrow and disorder it intro- 
duces into families ; breaking the heart of the 
widow, or sending forth helpless children into 
the world — and you may see what Sin has done 
for us ; for the body is dead because of sin only. 
It dies through the operation of natural causes ; 
but its being liable to decay and death at all, 
is the punishment of sin. 

But if the death of the body were all the 
mischief sin did us, it were small in the eyes of 
some, to whom death is preferable to life. But 
the 3K>ul is also naturally dead : for if when we 



THE REIGNS OF SIX AND OF GRAC] 



4 VI 



see a human form having eyes and seeing not, 
ears and hearing not, feet and walkingnot, under- 
standing nothing, feeling nothing, wepronounce 
it a corpse; we must surely say of that man. 
who, endued with every faculty — reason, me- 
mory, affection — neither knows God nor fears 
him, nor loves him, that he is dead as it respects 
God : and this is the Scripture representation — 
we are all, by nature dead in trespasses and 
sins. The evil of this state is, that he who is 
spiritually dead, not only lives a life little 
superior to the brutes in rationality and enjoy- 
ment, but, after death, is fit only to be cast into 
hell. To heaven he cannot go; for there, there 
is only life and immortality ; and death of every 
description is excluded. Besides, the wages 
of sin is death : having, therefore, performed 
the work of sin, he receives the wages, and 
dies the Second Death. 

II. But now man need not go all this length 
in misery. Great as the power of sin really is, 
and irresistible as it may appear, man is not 
left without an alternative : for God has set up 
another kingdom in the world, in opposition 
to sin. It is now, therefore, THE REIGN OF 
GRACE, of which we are, in the second place, 
to speak. 

For the establishment of this kingdom in 



50 



THIRD SERMON. 



the world, measures were taken from the be- 
ginning: indeed the plan was laid before all 
time, ere sin began its usurpations ; ere there 
existed a being to be the subject of its power. 
Four thousand years it remained almost un- 
known ; but, at last, the day of its glory came : 
— the Son of God appeared upon earth, and a 
New Era commenced : Satan, like lightening, 
fell from heaven : Christ, by his Cross, spoiled 
principalities and powers, and triumphed over 
them. By his resurrection, he rose far above 
all power, and might, and dominion, and every 
name that is named, not only in this world, but 
also in that which is to come (Col. i, 2 1 ). From 
this time the Empire of Grace began to be 
known. No longer confined to the narrow 
limits by which it was formerly bounded, it 
spread to the right and left ; and nation after 
nation fell within its domain. Now as this 
kingdom is to stand for ever, for so has God 
decreed, and all adverse states and authorities 
shall be finally subdued or annihilated, it is 
clear that if we can become subjects of this 
kingdom we shall be secured from the general 
ruin, but not else. To induce you, therefore, 
to emigrate from your native land, to throw off 
I mean your allegiance to sin, we must en- 
deavour to give some account of this king- 
dom, in which we wish you to become natu- 



THE REIGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. 51 

ralizecL It is enough to say that Grace is upon 
the throne of it : Grace reigns, as you will soon 
perceive, if you consider how things are con- 
ducted in this kingdom. 

The temper and disposition of a king is chiefly 
to be discovered by the Measures of his reign, 
and the Objects kept in view — the style of his 
Proclamations- — the Instruments and Ministers 
employed — the State of those under his govern- 
ment — the Wars engaged in : these things, and 
others of the like nature, constitute the most 
certain criteria. 

1. Now the object uniformly kept in view, 
in the Gospel Kingdom, is the happiness of its 
subjects in the way of holiness : The Kingdom 
of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy 
in the Holy Ghost (Rom. xiv. 17). All the 
measures taken with us are calculated to 
promote this end: whether affliction or pro- 
sperity be appointed us, all things work together 
for good, and bring forth the peaceable fruits 
of righteousness. These are gracious pro- 
ceedings. 

2. Next, let us read some of the procla- 
mations : — Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come 
ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, 
come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and 
milk without money and without price. Hearken 
diligently unto me, and eat ye that ivhich is good > 



52 



THIRD SERMON 



and let your soul deligh t itself in fatness Incline 
your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul 
shall live (Is.lv. 1—3) Come unto me all ye 
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will g ive 
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of 
me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye 
shall find rest unto your souls : for my yoke is 
easy, and my burden is light (Matt. xi. 28—30). 
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
drink (John vii. 37). Him, that cometh to me, 
I will in no wise cast out (John vi. 37)- Be- 
hold I stand at the door and knock: if any man 
hear my voice and open the door, I will come in 
to him, and will sup with him, and he with me 
(Rev. iii. 20). I am Alpha and Omega, the 
beginning and the end. I will give unto him 
that is at hirst of the fountain of the ivater of 
life freely. Whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely (Rev. xxi. 6. xxii. 17). It is 
Grace that reigns. Hear also how offenders 
are addressed : Come now and let us reason to&e- 
ther, saitk the Lord: though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though 
they he red like crimson, they shall be as wool 
(Is. i. 18). I, even I am he, that bloiteth out 
thy transgressions, for mine own sake, and will 
not remember thy sins (Is. xliii. 25). 

3. The instruments employed for enlarging 
the Gospel Kingdom, and keeping it in order, 



THE REIGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. 53 



next deserve notice. They are such as over- 
come the heart, by convincing the judgment. 
No force is to be used, but the force of per- 
suasion. Expostulations, invitations, offers of 
a free pardon, promises of everlasting love, 
displays of the Glory of God and the excel- 
lence of his ways, but, above all, calling mens 
attention to the Cross, are the means to be 
resorted to. Christ, as lifted up on the Cross, 
will draw all men to him. It must be Grace 
that dictates these methods : they are not had 
recourse to, for want of power : for He, whose 
cause is pleaded, is able to compel — but he 
chooses to persuade. He draws us with the 
cords of a man, with hands of love (Hosea xiV4). 

4. Next, let us contemplate the subjects of 
this Kingdom ; and it will soon appear, that 
God is determined to shew, by them, the ex- 
ceeding riches of his Grace, in his kindness 
toward them, through Christ Jesus (Eph. ii. 7). 

Many of them were deeply stained with guilt ; 
drunkards, murderers — can these be saved ? — 
it is the reign of Grace—they are washed—they 
are sanctified — they are justified in the Name of 
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God I 
(1 Cor. vi. 11). Absolved from guilt and con 
demnatkm, are they suffered to depart, as inno- 
cent creatures, to begin their career anew ? No : 
they would sin again, and their case would be 



54 



THIRD SERMON, 



worse than before : he therefore keeps them as 
his own — yes, he makes them his own children ! 
He hath predestinated us unto the adoption of 
children, by Jesus Christ, to himself, according 
to the good pleasure of his will ; to the praise of 
the Glory of his Grace, wherein he hath made us 
accepted in the Beloved (Eph, i. 5, 6). More- 
over, knowing the groveling disposition of their 
minds by nature, he gives his Holy Spirit to 
form their hearts anew, to raise their thoughts 
to high and heavenly things, to educate and 
discipline them for that state of glory for which 
they are reserved : and because, in this state of 
imperfect knowledge, they are in danger of 
losing sight of their high birth and exalted des- 
tiny, the Spirit bears witness with their spirit, 
as often as it is necessary, that they are the 
children of God : and since, notwithstanding 
all that is done for them, they know not, as 
they ought to know, what to pray for, the 
Spirit speaks for them — making intercession 
within them. Is there a rising apprehension 
that these things shall not last — that time, which 
brings all other things to an end, shall see these 
blessings come to nothing? — dismiss your fears! 
whom he did predestinate, them he also called; 
and whom he called, them he also justified ; and 
whom he justified, them he also glorified (Rom, 
viii. 30). The gifts and calling of God are ivith- 



THE RELGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. 55 



out repentance (Rom. xi. 29) : he ivill visit their 
transgression ivith the rod, and their iniquity 
with stripes: nevertheless, his loving-kindness 
ivill he not utterly take from him, nor suffer his 
faithfulness to fail: It shall he established for 
ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in 
heaven (Ps. lxxxix. 32, 33, 37). In union with 
this is the doctrine of the text. Grace must 
reign unto eternal life. As sin never loosens 
its hold upon its slaves, till it has ruined them 
beyond remedy ; so grace never ceases to 
attend us, till it has placed us beyond danger. 

But here an objection must be met and 
answered. 

How is all this consistent with what we hear 
of God's holiness and hatred of sin ? It will 
be thought a false, partial, and exaggerated 
representation. The Kingdom of Grace, if not 
visionary altogether, is far too agreeable to our 
natural feelings — its existence is not credible. 

We answer, from the text, that grace reigns, 
through righteousness — consistently with right- 
eousness — and by means of righteousness. How 
is this effected ? by Jesus Chr ist our Lord ! The 
sacrifice of Christ reconciles all apparent incon- 
sistencies, and brings to pass seeming impos- 
sibilities. 

For, by his having offered himself to bear the 
punishment of our, sins and God s accepting 



56 



THIRD SERMON. 



the substitution, it became possible for God to 
exercise mercy without disparagement to his 
justice. He could punish sin, and yet forgive 
it. In this way, we may be as if we had never 
sinned : no species of punishment being intended 
for us, we are as free from condemnation, as if 
Ave had been always perfectly innocent, or as if 
God were perfectly indifferent about sin and 
would never punish it. On the other hand, 
sin does not go unpunished, for Christ suffered 
for it. 

But it will be asked, " Is God's justice as 
much satisfied by Christ's suffering for sin, as 
if the whole human race had suffered for it I" 
In answer to this, we refer to the divine nature 
of Christ. If he be Divine, no assignable 
number of creatures can equal him in value ; 
and, consequently, the death of all creatures 
can never be such a costly sacrifice to justice 
as his death. 

It will be asked whether it is analogous 
to God's proceedings, that the guilty should 
escape, and the innocent suffer for him. We 
answer, that it is. Such things would occur 
every day, if men were found as willing to 
put themselves to trouble and suffer for 
others, as Christ shewed himself to be. In- 
stances of voluntary suffering for others are 
very rare, through the selfishness of men ; 



THE REIGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. 57 



but it is easy to see, that there is nothing in the 
constitution of things repugnant to the Gospel 
System : no disorder would arise in the world, 
~u ere men as benevolent as Christ : on the 
contrary, much of the misery, and perhaps 
much of the sin of it, would be removed. The 
objection supposes that the sinner and the 
sufferer are perfectly distinct ; whereas Christ 
and his people are one, by a very close and 
perfect union ; it may, therefore, be very con- 
sistent with God's righteousness, to grant to 
one undeserving class, on account of their 
union to one who is deserving, those favours 
which he would otherwise have withheld 
from them. For the same reason, we need no 
longer to be surprised, that all the benefits and 
blessings, which we have ventured, from the 
Word of God, to affirm, as belonging to the 
subjects of the Kingdom of Grace, do indeed 
belong to those that are one with Christ, by 
faith : for if they are indeed in Christ and 
Christ in them, all the reward that he has me- 
rited for what he has done, in a relative capa- 
city, may without hesitation be said to belong 
to us, by that right which results from the 
union. 

If, after all, our jealousy for God's honour, 
and regard for what we have been always 
taught to consider as the first principle of reli- 



58 



THIRD SERMON . 



gion, the hoiiness of God, make us hesitate to 
embrace a doctrine, which apparently relaxes 
the obligations to holiness, it must be recol- 
lected, that we have the same evidence for 
the mysteries of redemption, as we have for 
the divine holiness and a future judgment ; so 
that no revealed truth has a claim to our belief, 
superior to that which this has. We do not 
perceive that the reasoning employed to shew 
the reasonableness of this way of salvation is 
altogether inconclusive — we do perceive, and 
it is easy to shew, that the contrary doctrine, 
which would give pardon without atonement, 
is clogged with far more difficulties : but, wav- 
ing all argument, we appeal to Scripture ; and 
that, we are confident, will bear us out in every 
particular. 

Let then the glorious truth be opposed no 
more ! Let it break down the barriers, which 
ignorance and unbelief put before it ; and let it 
have free course through the earth ! Let it be 
heard — let it be known — by you, by all, that 
Grace reigns ! Let it dwell in the mind, and be 
fixed in the memory — and let it touch, with 
transport, all the springs of life ! Oh the tran- 
sporting view which it gives us of the love of 
God ! Why have we ever forgotten it ? God 
is love / Nothing now need keep us from bliss ! 
Divine love hath removed far off every obstacle 



THE REIGNS OF SIN AND OF GRACE. 59 



—it has cleared the way for us all round — 
let us go forth unto the liberty of the glory 
of the Sons of God. Let sin no longer detain 
us in darkness and misery. What though it 
hath long reigned over us, and the hope of 
emancipation has almost forsaken us — what 
though the consciousness of guilt seem to forbid 
your approaches to the Kingdom of God — re- 
member that Grace reigns there. It seeks new 
subjects, and the most unworthy are accepted. 
It bids us to ask, and we shall receive ; to seek, 
and we shall find ; to knock, and it shall be 
opened unto us. 

Are there any here who are fellow-citizens 
of the saints, and of the household of God ? — 
and have they need to be reminded that Grace 
reigns? What mean your idle fears? Give 
them to the wind. They are not pleasing to 
God, though they seem to arise from reverence 
for his laws. It is this unbelief, this measuring 
God by self, this keeping Christ and his Glory 
in the back ground and letting self be promi- 
nent, that tends to breed confusion in the 
government of Grace. We conform most accu- 
rately to the regulations of God's Kingdom, 
when we believe, and trust, and hope against 
hope, and rejoice with the joy of faith. Let 
us have a stronger apprehension of the freeness 
of Gods Grace, and the little reason there is 

\ 



60 



THIRD SERMON. 



to doubt of our acceptance, and we shall take 
more pleasure in the Lord : so the joy of the 
Lord shall be our strength. 

Finally, being happy ourselves in the King- 
dom of Grace, let us look abroad and try to 
make others so. Let us pray that the Saviour 
may sway his sceptre over all the world. Let 
us expect the day, when sin's ancient empire 
shall be overturned, even in these realms, espe- 
cially in this land, the focus of Heathenism, the 
citadel of sin, where it seems to have made its 
last stand, and from which it will be last of all 
expelled, if we may judge from appearances. 
But at last it must yield ; for the decree is gone 
forth, that to the Son of God is given Domi- 
nion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all peo- 
ple, nations, and languages should serve him : 
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, ivhich 
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which 
shall not be destroyed (Dan. vii. 14). Amen. 
May his Kingdom come! for worthy is the 
Lamb that was slain, to receive Power, and 
Riches, and Wisdom, and Strength, and Glory, 
and Honour, and Blessing. 



SERMON IV 



SCRIPTURE MORE PERSUASIVE THAN 
MIRACULOUS APPEARANCES. 



LUKE XVI. 31. 

And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses 
and the Prophets, neither will they be per- 
suaded though one rose from the dead. 

The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus 
conveys one of the most solemn warnings to 
the gay and thoughtless, that is to be met 
with in any part of Scripture. The descrip- 
tions which it contains of the frightful end of a 
life spent in thoughtlessness and sin, are awfully 
calculated to rouse our attention, and force 
upon our minds the reality of an Hereafter. 
Happy is it for the rich and great, who hear 
so seldom from their fellow-creatures the voice 
of truth, that their Maker has given them such 
plain and faithful admonitions of their peculiar 
dangers. 

Our Lord, from the beginning of the Chapter, 
had been speaking of the use and abuse of 



62 



FOURTH SERMON. 



wealth ; and of the impossibility of having the 
heart set, at the same time, upon God and upon 
the world : No servant can serve two masters. 
The Pharisees ridiculed him. After a mild 
rebuke to them, he proceeds to confirm the 
whole of what he had been saying, by the 
parable : There was a certain rich man which 
was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared 
sumptuously every day ; and there ivas a certain 
beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his 
gate, full of sores. 

Let us consider, first, the different condi- 
tions OF THESE MEN ON EARTH. 

We are first introduced to a man of rank and 
fortune, living in the fashionable and expensive 
style of the day: — stately mansions — superb 
clothing — splendid equipage — numerous atten- 
dants — sumptuous entertainments — courting 
friends — and flattering sycophants were, of 
course, his portion and daily enjoyment: to 
many in his day, he was an object of admiration' 
and envy ; and a better portion than his is 
sought by very few, in any age : it appears that 
he was a young man, as he left a father and five 
brethren alive at the time of his death. The 
poor man was as destitute as a human being 
could well be: he wanted the common neces- 
saries of life : in addition to this, he was full 
of disease and sores ; without medical aid to 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES. 63 

cure them, or even a friendly hand to bind them 
up ; so that the dogs came and licked them : 
he was carried, because unable to walk ; and 
as if no man cared what became of him, he 
was laid or cast at the rich man's gate, to 
gather a scanty and precarious subsistence from 
the crumbs which fell from his table: thus, 
destitute of food, of health, of friends — an out- 
cast from society — he protracted a wretched 
existence, till death relieved him from his 
sorrows. 

It will tend to reconcile us to the seemiug 
inequality of the situations in which they were 
placed by Providence, if we survey their still 

MORE DIFFERENT STATES IX THE INVISIBLE 
WORLD. 

The rich man died, and was buried. The 
burial of the rich man only being mentioned? 
it was probably intended to be signified that 
his funeral was conducted with that magnifi- 
cence which usually attends the burial of the 
great. The rich man died, and was buried ; and 
in hell he lift tip his eyes, being in torments. 
Hell! does it not exist only in the fears of 
fanatics ? Alas ! we need not doubt ; for here our 
Saviour shews us one of our fellow-creatures, 
who found himself there : he closed his eyes 
in death, and when he opened them again he 
was in flames ! Hear his piteous cry : Father 



64 



FOURTH SERMON. 



Abraham, have mercy upon me : I am tormented 
in this flame. What a change had ensued ! To 
pass from the warm precincts of life to the cold 
chambers of the grave is appalling, even in 
thought, to human nature: but, to exchange 
the soft pillows of ease for a bed of fire — the 
enjoyment of sumptuous banquets, for the want 
of even so much as a drop of water to afford a 
moments ease — to find friends and acquain- 
tances ail gone, and himself left alone with 
infernal fiends — what a transition for a votary 
of the world ! no amusements, no employments, 
no rest, no hope, but irremediable agony and 
endless despair! Abraham replied to the rich 
mans request, that the difference of the situa- 
tions in which he and Lazarus were, was occa- 
sioned by what had happened to them both on 
earth : Remember, that thou, in thy lifetime, 
receivedst thy good things. Remember ! Had 
he remembered on earth, he would not have 
been called to remember in hell. It is for want 
of remembering that people perish. They must 
not be reminded of death : such topics must be 
carefully excluded from conversation, lest they 
should induce melancholy. Thus they are 
forgotten, till the remembrance returns in hell ! 
Remember, that thou, in thy lifetime, receivedst 
thy o ood things. He was not to blame for being 
rich ; for wealth, honestly gained, is God's gift: 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES. 65 

but he valued those things more than any 
thing spiritual. He called them his good 
things ! 

Abraham, in answer to the Rich Man's request 
that Lazarus might come to him, said, that there 
was no passing from heaven to hell, or from 
hell to heaven: If there had been, Abraham 
would have prayed for him. Hence we may 
learn that to pray for the dead is useless. God 
has given us life as a time of probation and 
trial; and the Scripture always grounds its 
exhortations to diligence on this, that the night 
of death cometh, ivhen no man can work (J ohn 
ix. 4) ; and that whatever our hand Jindeth to 
do, we should do it with our might ; for there is 
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 
in the grave whither ive go (Eccl. ix. 10); and 
that, at the Day of Judgment, we shall receive 
according to the things done in the body, no 
reference being made to the things which we 
do or suffer in a separate state while our bodies 
are lying in the grave 

The Rich Man, finding his first request could 
not be complied with, begged that Abraham 
would send Lazarus to his father's house, and to 
his five brethren, lest they also should come to 
the same place of torment. This is remarkable. 
While on earth, he only thought of his pleasure 
or interest; and did not think it worth his 

F 



66 



FOURTH SERMON. 



while to be at much pains about his own soul, 
and much less about those of others : but now he 
is of another mind ; and is sensible that if his 
brethren, who lived in the same neglect as he 
did, knew what hell is, they would take more 
care. Abraham saith unto him, They have 
Moses and the Prophets — let them hear them: 
they have already abundant warning — let them 
make use of that. The Rich Man replies, Nay, 
Father Abraham ; but if one tuent unto them 
from the dead, they ivill repent: to which he 
answered, If they hear not Moses and the Pro- 
phets, neither will they be persuaded though 
one rose from the dead. By Moses and the 
Prophets is meant, the Old Testament. They 
would not be persuaded: that is, to forsake 
their sins and turn to God, though one rose 
from the dead — though one should go either 
from Heaven, where they see the torments of 
the damned ; or from Hell, where they feel 
them. 

I. It is this point that we propose to illus- 
trate—the WARNINGS OF GOD'S WORD ARE 
MORE ADAPTED TO BRING SINNERS TO RE- 
PENTANCE, THAN THE RISING OF ONE FROM 
THE DEAD. 

Sinners are disposed to think, that, if they 
had ever seen hell, or had seen a person who 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES. 



67 



had felt it, they would forsake all their sins, and 
do all that they could to escape it : but as they 
are only told of it in the Bible, they often think 
that it may be a mere delusion and fancy. But 
sinful men know not what they would have. 
They are fixedly averse to break off their sins 
by righteousness: therefore, to excuse them- 
selves, they object against the sufficiency of 
their means. But God, who knows our nature 
and circumstances, knows what is most adapted 
to us : He, who made the faculties of our souls, 
knows what will have the tendency to affect 
them : in contriving and appointing the means 
of our salvation, he chooses better for us than 
we should ourselves. If a person were to rise 
from the dead, and give a particular account 
of what he had seen, he would probably 
frighten many who are not terrified by reading 
the Bible : it would very much affect them, on 
account of the novelty of the thing. Men are 
apt to be much affected by strange things, and 
to be much affrighted at spectres in the dark, 
because they are unusual : but if they were as 
common as preaching is, they would lose their 
effect. On such an unusual occasion as the 
rising of one from the dead, men might perhaps 
reform their lives, and would never forget what 
they had seen. But we are to consider which 
would have the greater tendency to awaken 

f 2 



68 



FOURTH SERMON * 



us, if both alike were new and unusual ; to be 
warned by the great God himself, or by a man 
coming from the invisible world. It is in this 
view that we shall consider the matter, and we 
shall shew what advantages the former mode 
has above the latter. 

1. God knows better than departed 
souls, what the punishment of sinners is. 

He is everywhere present with his all-seeing 
eye. He pervades all space. If I ascend up 
into heaven, thou art there : if I make my bed 
in hell, behold, thou art there ! (Ps. cxxxix. 8)* 
He is present there, where they feel the misery • 
and he sees into the innermost recesses of the 
hearts of those miserable spirits — he sees all 
the anguish there, for he upholds them in 
being. They, and all their powers, are in his 
hands. Besides, it is his wrath, which they 
endure : he measures out to them their several 
portions : his anger is that fire, in which they 
are tormented. He, therefore, is certainly able 
to give as clear and distinct an account of hell 
as the miserable inhabitants of it. He too 
alone knows what Eternity is. 

2. We have the truth on surer grounds 
through God's testimony, than from the testi- 
mony of one rising from the dead. 

In the latter case, we should be uncertain 
whether there were not some delusion. W e know 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES, 69 

that it is impossible for God to lie, and that things 
must be precisely as he declares them to us : 
but if one should rise from the dead, we could 
not be so sure that we were no way imposed 
upon, and that he himself was not subject 
to some delusion — we could not be so sure 
that his account was not exaggerated. More- 
over, such a one could not convince us that 
we should come to that place of torment, if 
we did not repent and reform. And though 
more witnesses than one should come, there 
is no authority equal to that of God : there 
is no testimony from the invisible world, so 
indisputable and unquestionable as the divine 
testimony. How could we know that they 
had not come to deceive us? How could we 
know upon what views they acted ? Whereas 
we have the strongest ground of assurance 
that the First Being, and Fountain of all being 
and perfection, is nothing but light and truth 
itself ; and therefore he cannot deceive, or be 
deceived. 

3. The warnings of God's Word have the 
advantage, on account of the greatness and 

MAJESTY OF HIM WHO SPEAKS. 

The declarations of those, who are great, 
excellent, or honourable, have a more powerful 
tendency to move the heart, than of those who 

are not so, Things spoken by a king affect 



70 



FOURTH SERMON. 



more than the same things delivered by an equal. 
But God is the King of Kings. Shall we be 
unmoved, when the Universal Sovereign speaks ? 
Hear now : the Prophet summons the whole 
creation to attend when God speaks — Hear, 
O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord 
hath spoken ! (Is. i. 2.) 

4. It more evidently shews the importance 
of the affair, that God should immediately 
concern himself in it, than the coming of one 
from the dead would do. 

Those things in which Kings most immedi- 
ately concern themselves, are commonly mat- 
ters of the greatest importance : they leave 
lesser concerns to their ministers and agents. 
Now God, in all ages of the world, hath shewed 
himself much concerned in this matter. How- 
abundantly hath he warned us in his Holy 
Word ! — how earnest has he shewn himself in 
it ! — how many arguments and expostulations 
has he used, that we might avoid the way to 
hell! 

5. God's warning us of a danger has a greater 
tendency to influence us, because he is our 
Judge. 

The punishment is that to which He condemns, 
and which He inflicts. What he warns us against 
is His own wrath and vengeance. He tells us 
that if we go on in sin, He will destroy us. He 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES. 71 

tells us so himself ; and this is certainly more 
calculated to affect us, than to be told so by 
another who is not to be our judge. 

6. God is infinitely wise; and knows better 
how to speak persuasively to us than 
one rising from the dead. 

He perfectly knows our nature and state; 
and knows how to adapt his instructions and 
warnings to our frame and circumstances in the 
world. If one should come from the dead to 
warn sinners, it may be that he would tell them 
of Hell in a manner that would drive them to 
despair, rather than excite them to strive for 
salvation, in the diligent use of the means which 
God has appointed. But God knows what 
revelation we can bear ; and what is the most 
proper to do us good in this our infirm , dark, 
and sinful state. It is good for us to be warned 
and instructed by God, who knows best how 
to do it. 

II. Now since the rising of one from the 
dead seems to us the most calculated of all 
other methods to awaken us, and yet our 
Saviour says, that even this would not have the 
effect, where the testimonies of Moses and the 
Prophets fail, it is a natural inference that 
ALL OTHER METHODS THAT COULD BE 
IMAGINED WOULD BE INEFFECTUAL, 



12 



FOURTH SERMON. 



Men think that if they saw some prophet 
and his miracles, this would strongly impress 
them. But how was it in those times in which 
there were prophets? There has rarely been a 
more degenerate age, than that in which Elijah 
and Elisha lived: the people did not regard 
their prophecies or miracles; but walked in 
their own ways, and served their own Gods : 
so that Elijah thought that there were none left 
of the true worshippers of God. 

Would it be sufficient if we could hear God, 
therefore, actually speak from heaven? But, in 
the time of Moses, they heard God speak out 
of the midst of the fire, and saw Mount Sinai 
covered with smoke and flame, and shaken to 
its base. Did they all turn from their sins? It 
is true that they were very much affected at first; 
but how hard-hearted and rebellious they soon 
became! 

Men are apt to suppose that if they had lived 
in the time of Christ* and had seen and heard 
him, and witnessed his miracles, they must 
have been convinced* and would have obeyed 
him: but what was the fact of men like the 
Pharisees, who did see him? few were brought 
to repentance, by all his discourses and mira- 
cles — few were his constant followers! 

The Scripture is full of instances to prove, that, 
if the Word of God will not awaken sinners*. 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MfRACLES. 78 

nothing will. And we see enough in these days 
to convince us of it. Men sometimes meet 
with things by which we should think it impos- 
sible that they should not be reformed, if we 
did not see the fact. They sometimes hear 
the warnings of dying men, who are expecting 
to go to hell: they are affected for a while; 
but the solemn warning does but just touch them, 
and passes away. Sometimes they themselves 
are laid upon a bed of sickness, and their lives 
hang in doubt before them : they are brought 
to the sides of the grave, and their hearts are 
full of terror; yet, if they recover, they soon for- 
get it, and return to the ways of folly and wick- 
edness. Sometimes this is repeated— they are 
taken sick again — are again in extreme danger — 
their hearts are again full of terror — and many 
promises and vows are made ; yet, on recovery, 
they forget all, and again return to sin and 
folly! Such things may convince us that where 
the Word of God is not effectual, neither 
sickness, nor any thing else, is likely to be so. 

III. Hence let us LEARN the dreadful 
hardness of our hearts — that we are not more 
moved and wrought upon, by the best means 
which Infinite Wisdom could provide. 

How few are there, who are effectually changed 
by the W ord of God ! They are very thinly sown 3 



74 



FOURTH SERMON. 



there is but here and there one! But how just 
will God be in punishing the impenitent! For 
he gives them the best means of reclaiming 
them ; and gives them abundant warning before 
he punishes them. What could he have done 
more than he has done? We cannot devise or 
imagine a method, better than that which God 
hath given us. How justly therefore are 
ungodly men punished! how inexcusable will 
they be! 

Let us be induced to improve those means, that 
is, let us hear Moses and the Prophets, Christ 
and the Apostles : let us be persuaded to study 
the Scripture more; to read and hear it care- 
fully; to consider it thoroughly; and daily 
to walk according to its rule. 

The danger of neglecting it, on any pretence, 
cannot be more forcibly exhibited than by re- 
curring to the circumstances of the narrative 
before us. And it is well worth our while to in- 
quire, in what we differ from the Rich Man. 
We are not worse, we hope, than our neigh- 
bours : we would not injure a fellow- creature 
in the world : we believe in the Scriptures : 
but might not the Rich Man have said the same 
with perfect truth ? — yet he went to hell. He 
was not charged by Abraham with defect in 
any of his duties toward men — yet he went 
to hell : why ? because he was a lover of plea- 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES. 75 

sure, more than a lover of God — he loved the 
world and the things of the world. He wished 
to receive his good things in this life. He pre- 
ferred the present to the future. He could 
not sacrifice present enjoyments, in the expec- 
tation of future rewards — he could not submit 
to privations, though the necessities of his soul 
required it — he could not undergo the difficul- 
ties, or brook the self-denial, of a religious 
life — he would not make himself miserable, 
when he had the means of enjoyment in his 
power — he kept up his religion perhaps by the 
cursory performance of a few heartless duties ; 
but he would not suffer it to interfere with his 
pleasures, or debar him from agreeable society 
whether it consisted of persons fearing God 
or otherwise. God would let him have his 
choice — his Bible being neglected, God sent 
him no other monitor. He ate, he drank, he 
laughed, he played; but, while yet a young 
man, he died and went to hell ! 

Men and Brethren, can any thing open your 
eyes if this does not? Can you not yet perceive 
for whom our Saviour spoke the Parable? — 
plainly, not for the wicked, but for those whose 
chief concern is the body and this life. If 
there be any doubt on this head, see it con- 
firmed by our Saviour's own words : Woe unto 
you that are full, for ye shall hunger (Luke vi. 25). 



76 



FOURTH SERMON, 



Granting that these words need not be taken 
in their literal sense, there is something in 
the spirit of them that may shew us what 
Christianity is. If the words mean any thing 
at all, they certainly must mean that there is a 
strictness, a severity, a self-denial, accompa- 
nying the sincere profession of religion, utterly 
inconsistent with the thoughtlessness, self-in- 
dulgence, idleness, and dissipation prevalent 
among all classes of people who call themselves 
Christians. Suppose not because you are 
not precisely in the circumstances of the Rich 
Man, able to gratify an expensive and volup- 
tuous taste, that his case is not yours ; for the 
difference of outward circumstances, whether 
of wealth or poverty, is nothing at all before 
God. He looks on the heart. If you wish to 
have your good things in this life, whether you 
have them or not, and undervalue eternal glo- 
ries, you will most certainly lose those glories. 

Our Saviour, you will observe, has taken the 
two extremes, of earthly felicity and of woe. 

The instance of earthly felicity, was one who 
was healthy, and rich, and young ; blest with 
friends, respectable connections, a large for- 
tune, and all that riches can bring of the com- 
forts and elegancies of refined life. This is a 
case, the most in point of any that can be sup- 
posed : for regal dignity is quite out of th# 



SCRIPTURE ABOVE MIRACLES. 77 

question ; and the honours of the state are at- 
tainable by so few, that they do not often enter 
into the schemes which we form of earthly bliss, 
except perhaps in very early youth ; but the ad- 
vantages and comforts expected to be derived 
from riches, are so suited to the taste of all 
men, and so probably within the reach of all 
men, that the case supposed by our Saviour is 
peculiarly apposite, as a general example. 

The instance of the other man is, likewise, 
almost an extreme case. Loathsome sickness, 
and abject poverty, and friendless solitude, 
conspired to set him at the lowest degree in 
the usual scale of human misery* 

Now if the state of Lazarus with piety, is to be 
preferred to that of the Rich Man w ithout it, in 
these extreme cases, much more in all cases which 
are likely to be ours, should not poverty, and 
continual mortification, and sorrow, and death, 
be preferred to pleasures which end in ruin ? For 
whether we are in prosperity or adversity, we 
are like the rich man and the beggar at his 
door, alike hastening to the grave : the whole 
of this life is but a dream : death will soon ter- 
minate our joys and sorrows ; and our condi- 
tion, in the future world, will depend entirely 
on the manner in which we have lived in this 
state of probation. 

God has drawn aside for a moment the veil 



78 



FOURTH SERMON. 



of the invisible world, and shewn us what we 
shall all be in a little time. Let us endeavour 
to give these truths a reality in our minds. Let 
us believe what will be the issue of a worldly 
life. And let us live now as we shall wish we 
had lived when our state is irreversibly fixed. 



SERMON V. 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 



PSALM IX. 17. 

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God, 

Men and Brethren, if religion were only a 
cunningly- devised fable, if that Hell of which 
you read in the Bible were only an invention of 
crafty deceivers, you might despise their threat- 
enings, and go on in sin. Moreover, if it were 
only the drunkard, the murderer, the adul- 
terer, the sabbath-breaker, or the common 
swearer, that was to find his portion in hell, 
then the sober and moral among you might 
please themselves with the hope of escape. 
But if the Almighty has himself thundered out 
of heaven, and made known to all men, not 
only that he hath prepared a place of torment 
for the wicked, but that all who forget God 
shall be turned into it, it behoveth every one 
of us to hear, believe, and tremble. 



80 FIFTH SERMON. 

Brethren, let the words of our text convince 
you that the Word of God speaks plainly. 
Certain vain and ignorant persons are shocked 
at the coarseness of this subject; but you now 
hear God speaking for himself. This, then, is 
the threatening of Jehovah, which his justice 
and truth engage him to execute, that the 
wicked shall he turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God. 

At the very recital of these words, some of 
you must be convinced that they are in danger: 
their consciences must testify, that, if they die 
as they are now living, they must perish. But 
by far the greater number are saying to them- 
selves, 4 'Whatever others may be, I have no 
reason to believe myself to be wicked, or that 
I forget God." Now, my Brethren, you that 
speak after this manner, may perhaps be 
right ; but it is possible you may be wrong. 
If you are right, you need not fear to inquire 
into your reasons for thinking so : if you are 
wrong, it will be but a poor exchange to obtain 
a false peace for a little while in this world, 
at the expense of awakening from delusion in 
the next. It is, therefore, far wiser to ascertain 
the point. Let us then, for this purpose, first 
inquire, who are the Persons described in the 
text; and, in the second place, declare their 
I Final Doom. 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 81 

I. We shall inquire, who are THE PERSONS 
DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT. 

We apprehend that the wicked, and all the 
nations that forget God, are the same persons. 
In the sight of God, all are wicked who forget 
him : yet, in compliance with the usual sense 
put upon these words, let us suppose two sorts 
of persons spoken of — the wicked, those who 
are openly immoral ; and the other, those who 
are more decent in their conduct. 

I: The wicked, or immoral, are those whose 
sins carry the sentence of their condemnation 
along with them. To call these sins into a 
particular review, were unnecessary. Deeply 
marked with the character of Hell, they pro- 
claim to every beholder to what place they 
are tending. Let it suffice to adduce certain 
passages of Script ire, in which God has summed 
up these workers of iniquity, in one complete 
catalogue, and assigned one doom to them all. 
Know ye not, that the unrighteous shall not 
inherit the kingdom of God ? JBe not deceived ; 
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, 
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the king- 
dom of God (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10). Now the works 
of the flesh are manifest, which are these : Adul- 
tery, fornication, uncleamiess, lasciviousness, ido- 
latry, drunkenness, and such like: of the which 

G 



82 



F [ FT II SERMON. 



/ tell you before, as I have also told you in 
time past y that they which do such things shall 
not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. v. 19, 21). 
Would there were none such in the present 
assembly ! 

2. Leaving these texts to their consideration, 
we proceed to inquire who they are that forget 
God. 

God hath commanded us to remember him in 
all our ways. Not to do this, is to forget him. 

* 4 What then," you ask, 44 is it possible for any 
man to be always thinking of God? Is there 
not a time for all things ? Is it not sufficient 
that we think of him at proper seasons : such 
as on the sabbath, or at morning or evening 
prayer ?" No, Brethren ; it is not sufficient. 
God says, My son, give me thy heart (Prov. xxiii. 
26)— thine affections : love me, and you will 
think of me. The good man may, through infir- 
mity, lose sight of God ; but he always accounts 
it a loss, and longs to regain it : but it is a sign 
of wickedness if we forget God, wilfully and 
deliberately, in any part of our conduct. God 
requires all the heart and all the life to be 
devoted to his service. And, indeed, there is 
as much reason why we should remember him 
in all our ways, as in any one of them : if it 
were lawful to forget him, that is, to have no 
regard to his authority in one particular, it 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 8-3 

would be lawful also to forget him in another : 
thus the rule of right would be left to every 
man's own choice, and God would be no longer 
the Governor of the World. 

It is, therefore, trifling with Scripture to urge 
that you do not forget God, merely from this 
circumstance, that you sometimes think of 
him; for you may now certainly perceive, if 
God be wilfully excluded from any one of your 
thoughts, you are so far wicked. 

But we need not strain this point to prove 
your guilt. It is easy to shew, concerning a 
great part of you, that he is scarcely in any of 
your thoughts : you forget his Laws— you forget 
his Mercies — you forget his Presence. 

(1) There are some who forget God, as a 
Law-giver, to such a degree, that they never 
inquire what laws he has given ; nay, disobey 
those laws which they know. 

Ask yourselves, whether you are not living 
in the daily habit of seeking your own pleasure 
— whether it be not your daily question, not 
"What is the will of God?" but " What is 
my will?" — not " What does God command 
me to do?" but " What do I think fit to do? 
what will gratify the flesh, or secure most 
pleasure to myself ? what will promote my 
honour or advance my interests in the world ?" 
Are not these the considerations, that tacitly 



84 



FIFTH SERMON. 



suggest themselves ; and these the principles, 
that move us to action ? We do not ask whether 
you run the road of dissipation, and are known 
in the circles of fashion : perhaps many of 
you have not the means of following your own 
humour, and the bent of your own inclination, 
except in a few instances. Do you not find, 
that, whenever you have the means of enjoy- 
ment, you immediately set about inquiring 
how you may gratify yourself to the utmost ? 
When you have now and then leisure, do you 
send up a petition to God, that he would 
direct you to pass your time to his glory and 
the good of your soul ? or do you not rather 
waste your hours in idle conversation, and 
employ them according to your own humour? 
But is not this neglect of inquiring about His 
will, a forgetfulness of God your Maker? 
What must be said of that servant, who would 
not take the trouble so much as to know his 
master's will ? Indeed, A son honoureth his 
father, and a servant his master : if then I be a 
Father, where is mine honour? and if I be a 
Master, where is my fear? saith the Lord 
of Hosts unto you (Mai. i. 6). 

Further, Consider whether you do not through 
forgetfulness of God, disobey those laws which 
you know to be his. You call yourselves 
Christians : there is probably, therefore, not one 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 85 

here who does not know that God has com- 
manded all men, everywhere, to repent — to 
be born again — to renounce the world and its 
vanities — to crucify the flesh with its affections 
and lusts — to be poor in spirit — to mourn for 
sin — to hunger and thirst after righteousness— 
to be pure in heart — to be constant and earnest 
in prayer — to be laying up treasures in hea- 
ven — to enter in at the strait gate, and to walk 
along the narrow way that leadeth unto life — and, 
in fine, to be looking for the day of God, in all 
holy conversation and godliness: and yet are 
you not conscious that you do not put one of 
these into practice, but that you live in the ha- 
bitual neglect of some or all these duties, every 
one of which you know God has commanded ? 

(2) You forget God in another particular^ 
namely, by forgetting his Mercies. 

On this head let me ask you, whether you 
acknowledge his mercies — whether you bow 
your knees, in fervent and affectionate thanks- 
giving, for having been blest with health ; for 
having been fed by his bounty ; for mercies 
personal, social. Do you confess that every 
thing which you receiveat the hand of God is mere 
mercy ? If he were to afflict you with disease 
and strip you of all your comforts, would he give 
you no more than you deserve? If he were to 



86 



FIFTH SERMON.. 



condemn you to everlasting misery, would he 
be just? Do you believe that you deserve it? 
" No," you say : " what have I done to deserve 
it?" You think God would be unmerciful, if he 
were to destroy you ! 

And, above all, my Brethren, what think ye 
of Christ, who is, according to Scripture, God's 
unspeakable gift? Do you shew that you bear 
due regard to God's mercy in sending Christ, 
by believing in him, coming to him, casting 
yourself upon him as a lost and ruined sinner ? 
Have you ever devoted yourself to him — becom- 
ing his disciple, esteeming his reproach, and 
saying, in short, with a true heart, "Henceforth 
I will not live unto myself ?" (2 Cor. v. 15). Ask 
yourselves whether you ever thought of Christ, 
with real pleasure and genuine satisfaction of 
heart. When you speak of him, or of God's 
mercy in giving him, as you sometimes do in the 
public prayers, is it not rather a forced or 
thoughtless acknowledgment, than the grateful 
tribute of a broken heart ? Christ has said, He, 
that loveth father or mother more than me, is 
not worthy of me ; and he, that loveth son or 
daughter more than me, is not worthy of me; and 
he, that taketh not his cross and follow eth after 
me, is not worthy of me (Matt. x. 37, 38). 
Do you thus love and obey him, counting all 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 87 

things but dung and dross to win him, and for- 
saking all to follow him? Alas, my friends! 
you know it is no such thing; and what is 
worse, you do not even desire that it should be 
so. You start at the thought of unceasing self- 
denial ! You would think yourself miserable 
in a life of godliness ! You seek your happiness, 
not from God, but the world. You could, in 
your own opinion, be as happy as you are, 
if there were no God — no Saviour. I may say 
to you, as our Lord to the Jews, Ye have not the 
Love of God in you ! (John v. 42). 

Thus you slight and neglect the rich mercies 
of God, either by not counting the cost, or by 
determining not to pay it; thus proving that alto- 
gether you undervalue the blessing to be bought! 

(3) Let us proceed to remark, in the third 
place, that you forget God by forgetting his 
Presence. 

It is God's presence which made and upholds 
the universe, and which directs every event of 
our lives. It is this, therefore, that makes the 
frame of Nature sacred, and hallows the vary- 
ing turns of Providence. We do not ask 
whether you admire the marks of his creating 
finger, and trace his footsteps as they are seen 
when he goes to and fro over the earth. Let us 
come nearer home. God's eye pierces into our 
hearts. All things are naked and opened unto 



88 



FIFTH SERMON. 



the eyes of him, ivith ivhom we have to do! (Heb 
iv. 13) — He knoweth our thoughts afar off: 
(Ps. cxxxix. 2.) 

Do you thus remember his awful presence? 
Are you anxious that your hearts should be a 
pure and living temple to his praise ? Do you 
love to walk with God ; to cry to him, with holy 
confidence, Search me, O God, and know my 
heart : try me, and know my thoughts ; and see 
if there be any wicked ivay in me ? (Ps. cxxxix. 
23, 24). 

On the contrary, do not you know that if you 
were to profess to have any such secret com- 
munion with God, you would lie to the Holy 
Ghost, and would almost expect the fate of 
Ananias ? Do you not know that you securely 
indulge the lustful thought, and secret vanity, 
and covetous desire of gain, and bitterness of 
revenge and anger ; and freely give the reins to 
those appetites, which the eye of man cannot 
scrutinize ? God sees them, and sees them with 
anger; but you are not concerned ! What you 
would be ashamed and shocked for man to 
know, that you commit before God without fear 
and without remorse ! You say, in excuse, that 
you are not aware of God's presence ; that you 
forget that his eye is fixed upon you : but, by 
so saying, you confess what we aimed at prov- 
ing, namely, that you forget his presence. 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 39 

Thus, then, we have described a character, 
not difficult to be drawn. Let not such persons 
expect that they shall dwell with God : forget- 
ting his laws, they cannot join in the blessed 
obedience of angels: forgetting his mercies, 
they could not sing praises to the Lamb: for- 
getting his presence, they shall be banished from 
his presence for ever ! 

But it is not a negative suffering only, which 
they are to undergo ; for we know him that hath 
said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the 
Lord (Rom. xii. 19) — They have paid me con- 
tempt : I will repay them vengeance. 

II. Hear, therefore, their FINAL DOOM — The 
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the na- 
tions that forget God ! 

Men, in general, do not wish to hear this 
place so much as mentioned, much less de- 
scribed as the portion of the wicked : but it is 
better to hear of it than to dwell in it ; and it 
is by hearing of it, that we must be stirred up 
to escape it. It is degrading to human nature, 
that we must draw an argument from such a 
source — that we must dip our shafts in the 
lake that burneth with fire. It is painful and 
humiliating to reflect that beings, capable of 
being constrained by love, should require to 
be driven by an iron scourge ! Hell is often 



90 FIFTH SERMON" 

described by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was 
too compassionate and serious to excite ground- 
less terrors. As he said to his disciples, In my 
Father s house are many mansions, if it were not 
so I would have told you (John xiv. 2) ; so we 
may say of Hell : there, then, are many mansions, 
if it were not so he would have told us. Hell 
is often described by him as a place in which 
both body and soul are tormented for ever. 
To one of these descriptions we will refer you. 

In the Ninth Chapter of St. Mark's Gospel, 
the eternity of torment is six times described ! 
The fire and the worm are such images of the 
causes of suffering as are addressed to the 
senses. Christ describes hell as a place of in- 
conceivable torment and everlasting misery. 
He describes it by saying, their fire is not 
quenched. Fire, a dreadful element, is a scorch- 
ing thing, and enters deep into the senses : yet 
Hell is represented to be a lake of fire and brim- 
stone (Rev. xix. 20). But if there were any pe- 
riod set to their sufferings — if, after millions of 
years, they were to be reduced to nothing, they 
might bear it : but this is their misery, that it is 
for ever ! Think how tedious is the motion of 
time when you are in pain — how you wish the 
hours away ! What must it be to suffer such 
pain as will make every moment appear an age ? 
and yet there must be an eternity of those ages ! 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 91 

Our Lord also compares it to the gnawing of a 
worm, which preys on the vitals : by which is 
signified that anguish of spirit and remorse of 
conscience which they must for ever feel, and 
keen disappointment at having lost for ever past 
opportunities : their worm dieth not. They have 
fallen into the hands of the Living God : there- 
fore, so long as He liveth, that is, for ever, so 
long must they be subject to the execution of 
his wrath ! These things are within the appre- 
hension of all — it is a very plain thing of which 
we speak. Whoever do go to a place of tor- 
ment continue there for ever ! 

This place will be the portion of them that 
forget God. Here, foolish and ignorant men 
scoff at eternal torments : they say, within them- 
selves, of Sin — " Is it not a little thing? Will a 
merciful God, who knows our weakness, pu- 
nish so dreadfully what we can scarcely help 
doing?" But what says God? " Thou thought- 
est that I ivas altogether such an one as thyself 
(Ps. i. 21). Because thou didst smile at sin, 
thou thoughtest I should do so too. Because 
I forgave the sins of my penitent people, thou 
thoughtest I should forgive thine without repent- 
ance." They will find that God was in earnest, 
when he warned them to flee from the wrath to 
come (Matt. iii. 7). He said to them on earth, 
If ye live after the flesh, yc shall die (Rom, 



92 



FIFTH SERMON. 



viii. 13) : they did live after the flesh ; hoping, 
no doubt, that God would not be true to his 
word. But do not they find, now that they feel 
the pains of hell get hold upon them, now that 
they have actually died and are in hell, that God 
is faithful ? Though we believe not, but deny 
him, yet he cannot deny himself. Believe it, 
Brethren, God is not a man, that he should lie ; 
neither the son of man, that he should repent. 
Hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he 
spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Num. 
xxiii. 19). 

Some are so weak as to suppose that the 
numbers who must perish, if all this be true, 
will secure them against the threatened ven- 
geance ; or, at least, move the commiseration 
of the Judge. But we read in the text, 
that though they be whole nations, they 
cannot withstand his almighty arm : however 
numerous, or however strong, he can in a mo- 
ment hurl the mightiest criminals into endless 
ruin: thus he speaks by his Prophet — Hell 
hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth 
without measure: and their glory, and their 
multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, 
shall descend into it (Is. v. 14); and, As the fire 
devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth 
the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, 
and their blossom shall go upas dust: because 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 93 

they have cast away the law of the Lord of 
hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of 
Israel (Is. v. 24). And bath not this dreadful 
threatening been fulfilled? hath not our Lord 
told us of a rich man, who, in hell lifted up his 
eyes, being in torment ? it was not said that he 
was sent thither for being a drunkard, or a 
fornicator, or an extortioner: but he had 
forgotten God. That narrative, I mean of 
Dives and Lazarus, exhibits realities. Is 
there such a place as hell? Does any one 
descend into it, and find himself actually 
there ? The rich man did ! 

Let it, then, be established as an awful truth, 
that they who wilfully neglect to obey any of 
God's laws which they know, or who live 
without Christ, that is, ignorant of him — do 
not follow him in the regeneration, or who 
indulge the secret sins of the heart, thus disre- 
garding the divine presence, are those that 
forget God, and shall be turned into hell. 

Now pause awhile, and reflect! Some of 
you perhaps by this time, instead of making a 
wise resolve, have begun to wonder that so 
heavy a judgment should be denounced merely 
against Forgetfulness. 

But look at the affairs of common life, and 
be taught by them. Do not neglect, and want 
of attention, and not looking about us to see 



94 



FIFTH SERMON" 4 



what we have to do — do not any of these bring 
upon us consequences* as ruinous to our 
worldly business as any active misbehaviour? 
It is an event of every day, that a man, by mere 
laziness and inattention to his business* does 
as certainly bring himself and family to poverty 
and end his days in a goal, as if he were, in 
wanton mischief, to set fire to his own house. 
So it is also with the affairs of the soul : neg- 
lect of that— forgetfulness of God, who only 
can save it, will work his ruin, as surely as a 
long and daring course of profligate wicked- 
ness. 

When any one has been recollecting the proper 
proofs of a future state of rewards and punish- 
ments, nothing methinks can give him so sensi- 
ble an apprehension of punishment or such a 
representation of it to the mind, as observing, 
that, after the many disregarded checks, ad- 
monitions, and warnings, which people meet 
with in the ways of vice, folly, and extrava- 
gance—warnings from their very nature, from 
the examples of others, from the lesser incon- 
veniences which they bring upon themselves, 
from the instructions of wise and good men — 
after these have been long despised, scorned, 
ridiculed — after the chief bad consequences 
(temporal consequences) of their follies have 
been delayed for a great while — at length they 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 95 

break in irresistibly like an armed force : re- 
pentance is too late to relieve, and can serve 
only to aggravate their distress : the case is 
become desperate ; and poverty and sickness, 
remorse and anguish, infamy and death, the 
effects of their own doings, overwhelm them 
beyond possibility of remedy or escape* This 
is an account of what is, in fact, the general 
constitution of nature. 

But is the Forgetfulness of God so light a 
matter? Think what ingratitude, rebellion, and 
atheism there is at the bottom of it ! Sirs, you 
have a carnal mind, which is enmity against 
God (Rom. viii. 7). Do not suppose that you 
have but to make a slight effort, and you will 
cease to forget him : it is your nature to forget 
him : it is your nature to hate him : so that 
nothing less than an entire change of heart and 
nature, will ever deliver you from this state of 
enmity. Our nature is not subject to the law of 
God, neither indeed can be. They, that are in 
the flesh, cannot please God (Rom. viii. 7, 8). 
From this state, let the fearful menace in the 
text persuade you to arise! Need we remind 
you again of the dreadfulness of hell — of the 
certainty that it shall overtake the impenitent 
sinner? Enough has been said; and can any 
of you be still so hardened, and such enemies 
to your souls, as still to cleave to sin? Will you 



96 



FIFTH SERMON. 



still venture to continue any more in the hazard 
of falling into the hands of God ? Alas ! Who 
among us shall dwell with the dev ow ing fire ? 
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting 
burnings? (Is. xxxiii. 14). Can thine heart en- 
dure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days 
that I shall deal with thee ? I the Lord have 
spoken it, and will do it! (Ezek. xxii. 14). 
Observe, that men have dealt with sinners — 
ministers have dealt with them — apostles, 
prophets, and angels have dealt with them : 
at last, God will take them in hand, and deal 
with them! Though not so daring as to defy 
God, yet, Brethren, in all probability you put 
off repentance. Will you securely walk a little 
longer along the brinks of the burning furnace 
of the Almighty's fury? As the Lord liveth, 
and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between 
thee and death! (1 Sam. xx. 3). When you lie 
down, you know not but you may be H it 
before the morning; and when you rise, you 
know not but God may say, Thou fool, this 
night thy soul shall be required of thee! When 
once the word is given to cut you down, the 
business is over. You are cut off from your 
lying refuges and beloved sins — from the world 
— from your friends — from the light — from 
happiness — from hope, for ever! Be wise then, 
my friends, and reasonable : give neither sleep 



THE DOOM OF THE WICKED. 97 

to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids, till 
you have resolved, on your knees before God, 
to forget him no more. Go home and pray. 
Do not dare to fly, as it were, in the face of your 
Maker, by seeking your pleasure on his holy day • 
but if you are alarmed at this subject, as well 
you may be, go and pray to God that you may 
forget him no more. It is high time to awake 
out of sleep. It is high time to have done with 
hesitation: time does not wait for you; nor 
will God wait till you are pleased to turn. He 
hath bent his bow, and made it ready: halt no 
more between two opinions : hasten — tarry not 
in all the plain, but flee from the wrath to 
come. Pray for grace, without which you can 
do nothing. Pray for the knowledge of Christ, 
and of your own danger and helplessness 
without which you cannot know what it is to 
find refuge in him. It is not our design to 
terrify, without pointing out the means of safety. 
Let us then observe, that if it should have 
pleased God to awaken any of you to a sense 
of your danger, you should beware of betaking 
yourselves to a refuge of lies. 

But, through the mercy of God, many among 
us have found repentance unto life — have fled 
for refuge, to the hope set before them — have 
seen their danger, and fled to Christ. Think 
with yourselves what it is now to have escaped 



98 



FIFTH SERMON". 



destruction; what it will be to hear at the Last 
Day our acquittal, when it shall be said to 

others, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire. Let the sense of the mercy of 
God gild all the path of life. On the other 
hand, since it is they who forget God that are 
to bear the weight of his wrath, let us beware, 
Brethren, how we forget him, through concern 
about this world, or through unbelief, or 
through sloth. Let us be punctual in all our 
engagements with him. With earnest attention 
and holy awe ought we to hear his voice, 
cherish the sense of his presence, and perform 
the duties of his worship. No covenant rela- 
tion, or Gospel grace can render him less holy, 
less jealous, or less majestic. Where/ore let us 
have grace, whereby we may serve God accep- 
tably, with reverence and godly fear; for our 
God is a consuming fire. 



SERMON VI 



THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART. 



JEREMIAH XVII. 9- 

The heart is deceitful above all things. 

I. In what is here said concerning the deceit- 
fulness of the human heart, it is supposed 
that there are MANY OTHER THINGS IN THE 
WORLD DECEITFUL: and very little experi- 
ence is sufficient to convince us that the sup- 
position is not without ground. 

1. Men are deceivers. There is no man so 
wary and cautious in his dealings with his 
fellow-creatures, but he has found himself, at 
one time or other, over-reached. In all mat- 
ters of exchange, buying and selling, lending 
money and paying it, labour and the remune- 
ration for labour, there is generally a trial of 
skill on each side, which shall get the better of 
the other; and if their respective claims are 

h 2 



100 



SIXTH SERMON. 



finally adjusted, and they come to a fair 
agreement, it is rather because one is not an 
overmatch for the other, than because they 
wish that each should have his due. Fraud 
is not confined to the lower orders of men: 
great men also can be great deceivers: they 
make promises, and excite expectations; and 
when the time of fulfilment is come, it turns 
out that they meant nothing. Such is the state 
of things in society. The arm of brutal force 
being tied up by law, men endeavour to satisfy 
their greedy appetites by practising deceits* 

2. There are other things in the world that 
deceive, but not intentionally, such as riches, 
and pleasure, and honour. They never pro- 
mise any thing : but we will have it that they do. 
We will give them a name, which, though they 
disown it, we obstinately persist in giving : and 
we continue calling them by their wrong 
names, and reasoning from fictitious premises; 
till, finding ourselves mistaken in the end, we 
call them deceivers. 

In this sense, Riches deceive. We imagine 
that riches will do every thing for us ; and fancy 
that he that has wealth equal to his wishes, is in 
want of nothing. Yet riches can take to them- 
selves wings and fly away; and leave their 
possessor with more wants than at first, and 
less ability to supply them. Or if they remain 



THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART. 101 

with him, it is seldom seen that he is happier 
than before, if so much so. Our desires multiply 
with the means of gratifying them; so that 
the rich man does not so much taste new plea- 
sures, as provide for new wants. 

3. There are some things that deceive us, 
which are neither in their nature fallacious, nor 
such as we wish to be deceived about — things 
in which we mistake through the defectiveness 
of our judgment: for instance, the provi- 
dence of god. We expect that he will act in 
someparticular way, not considering that he may 
have ends in view which are entirely un connected 
with us, or with any thing that we have heard : 
so we often find that he acts quite otherwise 
than we expected, and we are in consequence 
deceived. 

From a similar source, namely, our imperfec- 
tion, arise those frequent disappointments 
which we meet with in our projects: our un- 
wieldy schemes, in the course of time, come to 
nothing, because, with all our sagacity,we know 
nothing of the future. Hence also we form 
erroneous opinions of others : we have thought 
highly of some, whom we now know we are de- 
ceived in : we have condemned others, whom 
time has proved to be upright persons and out 
best friends. So liable are we to be imposed 
upon by appearances! 



102 



SIXTH SERMON, 



II. But let all outward things deceive us' in 
what form or to what extent they may, A 
MAN'S OWN HEART OUTDOES THEM ALL IN 
DUPLICITY. 

1. The HEART IS ONE OP THE THINGS THE 

least known among men. God has given 
them some account of it, and they profess to 
believe the Word of God without reservation ; 
but they hesitate to give their assent to all 
that is said against the Heart. The course of 
things in the world corroborates the divine 
testimony concerning our depravity: wicked- 
ness generally prevails: general wickedness 
can be only the aggregate of the wickedness 
of each individual ; and each individual crime 
must be owing to something within him : thus 
legitimate reasoning conducts us to the depra- 
vity of the heart. Yet men will not admit the 
conclusion, though they acknowledge the pre- 
mises; except, indeed, they can do it without 
implicating themselves. Thus it is often re- 
marked that such a man must have a bad heart 
who could act in such a way ; but they will not 
allow that their own bad actions must be 
owing to some evil in their hearts. 

As men, in general, are ignorant of their 
depravity, so each man is blind to his own 
particular failings ; that is, to a paticular 
propensity of the heart which seems its most 



THE DECE1TFU LNESS OF THE HEART. 108 

prominent feature, and characterizes the man. 
Other men can see when we are covetous, 
but we cannot see it ourselves. 

Sometimes, however, we do believe what 
men say of us ; and that is, when they flatter 
us. At such times, the heart succeeds so com- 
pletely in hiding our defects from us, that we 
can believe any thing- that is said in our praise. 
There is reason to think, that each man is 
naturally sunk into such a depth of absurdity 
as to believe, after comparing himself with 
others, and making allowances for the disad- 
vantages attending his situation and circum- 
stances, that the overplus of merit rests solely 
with himself. 

It is humiliating to find what a deficiency of 
self-knowledge there is in others, who, of all 
men in the world, ought to know themselves 
best — those whom God, by his grace, hath 
called to knowledge and virtue. 

This self-deception appears in many of our 
habits and opinions. We judge one another 
uncharitably; often unmercifully. Looking to 
the right hand and to the left of the Church of 
God, we observe how foolish is this, and how 
wrong is that: not considering, that what 
others do,they may do to the Lord, as well as we 
who leave it undone; and, that what they leave 
undone, they do it so to the Lord, as well as 



104 



SIXTH SERMON. 



we who do it (Rom. xiv. 6). We are not now 
speaking of the sin of judging ; but rather of the 
deceitfulness of the heart, in not letting us see 
the sinfulness of a censorious temper. We 
acknowledge that we must not judge, lest we 
be judged: yet we are always doing it — why? 
because we are so abominably proud: there 
is a secret belief that though it would be 
wrong in others to judge, we are privileged 
to do so, from our knowledge and general cor- 
rectness. 

The heart is never more deceitful, than in 
the report which it gives of our progress in 
Christian Virtues. 

It tells us, for instance, that we have Zeal; 
which zeal is often no other than bitterness 
and ill temper. We are violent against the 
misconduct of others ; not because they have 
sinned against God, but because they trouble 
and interfere with ourselves. We are zealous 
for Christ, and the spread of his Gospel ; but 
cannot rejoice if the work be not done by 
ourselves and friends : nay, are often so 
wicked as to wish the work may not be done 
at all, if it cannot be done in our own way. 
Now if our zeal is of this nature, it is 
evidently pure woridliness. It is possible, nay, 
it is very easy, for our religious attachments to 
beceme in time so confined, that we shall seek 



THE DECEITFU LXES5 OF THE HEART. 105 



the good of those of our own commumcn, with 
no higher motive than men seek to aggrandize 
their families and connections; and, conse- 
quently, without any exercise of grace at all: 
yet our hearts will be telling us all the while 
that we are zealous for God. 

We often think that we have Love, when we 
have none. If ye love them which love you, 
what tliank have ye? (Luke vi. 32). If we can 
love those only who think with us, we do no 
more than every worldly man does : all friend- 
ships are formed in this way : similarity of sen- 
timents, in politics or literature, brings men 
together — lea ves no room for dissention — and is 
a reciprocal acknowledgement of each other's 
discernment. But Christian Love is quite 
another thing: it needs not the impulse of 
selfish motives, but feels the attractive influence 
of the object: it cares not where that object 
exists: if there be any thing truly lovely in 
persons who even despise and ill treat us, we 
shall love it in spite of all: we shall open our 
way to the pearl, in spite of the tenacity of the 
shell. If this be Love, how little of it exists ! 
yet all lay claim to it : they must therefore 
deceive themselves. 

There are other graces which we seem to 
see in ourselves, and are mistaken. Religious 
considerations sometimes appear so pleasant 



106 



SIXTH SERMON. 



to us, that our hearts are full, and we speak 
to all of the Happiness of Religion. This 
we suppose must be Christian Experience — 
this is the Joy and Peace promised to the saints : 
which joy is more to be suspected than any 
other. It is very often no more than the animal 
spirits, elevated by something that pleases Self ; 
and merely taking a tinge, a slight colouring, from 
religion. Rejoice in tribulation, with a sick 
and dying body, destitute of friends, temporal 
comforts, and all other aids to cheerfulness ; or 
rejoice when your will is contradicted, and you 
are put to great inconvenience — and we will 
readily grant that your joy is genuine: but, in 
most other cases, it is very much to be 
suspected. 

The heart very often makes use of the 
Bodily Constitutions of men, to impose upon 
tliem. Many give themselves credit for being 
humble and sober, because the constitution, 
being naturally sedate, has no tendency to 
lead them into excesses to which ardent tem- 
pers are prone. Others impetuously carry all 
before them, and despise the rest for want of 
zeal ; whereas their own zeal is no more than 
the heat of their blood. If we would take the 
measure of our progress in those tempers to 
which our natural constitutions are most averse, 
we should more justly appreciate our real cha- 



THE DECE1TFUENESS OF THE HEART. 107 

racter. It is by pursuing the opposite method, 
that we fall into mistakes. 

Thus are saints, as well as sinners, greatly 
deceived in many important particulars. Now 
no outward things practise fraud upon us. In 
the creation of God, there is nothing which 
is not subjected to rules, by virtue of which all 
things continue as they were from the creation : 
above all, God's Word remains the standard of 
truth : yet we are constantly deceived. It is 
evident, therefore, that there is a principle of 
delusion within — the Heart must be a deceiver. 

2. We have next to shew that the Heart is 
deceitful above all things. 

Powers of deceit may be estimated in various 
ways ; but chiefly, like other powers, by the 
effects which they are able to produce 
Deeper policy is necessary to defraud a man 
of his estate, than to deprive him of his gar- 
ment ; and deeper still, to change a dynasty 
Now the heart, if left quietly to weave its own 
web, will never leave off till it brings out 
death : nothing less than the everlasting ruin 
of both body and soul is the result of its ma- 
chinations, if it be allowed to complete them. 
Men exhaust their powers of invective against 
the enemy of our nation, and stand aghast at 
the unexampled success of his plans ; but they 
have within their own breasts a foe more insi- 



108 



SIXTH SERMON. 



dious ; one, whose scheme, if matured, will bring 
upon them far more extensive mischiefs. For 
what can the craftiest politicians of this world 
do, but alter somewhat of the form of things, 
and vary what God intended should be varied ? 
But the operations of the heart are connected 
with the destinies of eternity : if it fail, the soul 
may dwell with the angels, itself a companion 
for them: if it succeed, the soul sinks to hell, 
to be for ever with the devils. And all this it 
does purely by fraud ! The potentates of the 
earth find Power, either actually brought into 
action or exhibited to intimidate, necessary to 
the execution of their schemes ; but the heart 
uses no instrument but Deceit. When the soul 
is lost, it does not fall the victim of violence, 
but goes as a willing subject. 

If the heart did not practise its deceits to 
the extent that it does, if it deceived us no more 
than other things do, it deserves to be called 
the Chief Deceiver, for being able to do before 
our own eyes that for which others require 
distance and concealment. It is certainly 
more uncommon, when we mistake the cha- 
racter of persons whom we live with, whom 
we converse with from day to day, whom we 
have known for years and observed in a great 
variety of situations, than the character of 
those who seldom come under our notice : 



THE DECFITFULNESS OF THE HEART. lG9 

persons who can wear a mask in such circum- 
stances, and not be discovered, are certainly 
finished hypocrites. What then must we think 
of the Heart, which we have always with us, 
and may inspect when we please? The occur- 
rence of outward events is not necessary in 
order to put it into a new position, so as to 
enable us to view it in a different aspect. We 
can suppose cases ; and imaginary circum- 
stances will be almost as true a list of the state 
of the heart, as real. Thus we have abundant 
means of discovering its bent and purposes : 
yet, after all, it remains in a great measure 
unknown. 

The Word of God is given to us, to serve as 
a rule to shew the heart's obliquities — a line to 
fathom its depths — a clue to guide us through 
its labyrinths — a fire to try its nature : yet it 
remains unknown ! 

The Word of God puts us on our guard 
against the deceiver: it has given it a stigma, 
that we may learn it: it mentions some of its 
wiles; holds up, as warnings, persons who 
have been duped ; and roundly asserts that 
he tliat trusteth his own heart is a fool (Prov. 
xxviii. 26). Other deceivers, if they found the 
ground thus pre-occupied and measures taken 
for their reception, would despair of attempting 
any thing with success; but the heart sports in 



110 



SIXTH SERMON. 



its own deceiving^ : it lays its plots at leisure, 
and is confident of escaping detection. Surely 
in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird 
(Prov. i. 17)- The silly animal sees what is 
doing, yet flies as soon as possible into danger. 
Thus it is with man. He seems bereft of 
reason when the heart exerts its influence: so 
superior is its skill and ingenuity, and so irre- 
sistible its fascinations. 

It is still more extraordinary, that, after we 
ourselves have had trial of the falsehood and 
treachery of our own hearts, as well as been 
warned of what others have suffered in this 
way, we should still listen with credulity to its 
tales. In other cases, when any one has im- 
posed upon us and is detected, we have done 
with him ; or, if future intercourse be necessary, 
we take care to remember what sort of person 
we have to deal with. But the heart may de- 
ceive as often as it will, and we still continue 
to trust it. 

Sometimes, however, we determine, in good 
earnest, to examine the heart: we are resolved 
to call it to account — to remain in ignorance no 
longer. We begin: not many minutes pass 
before we find ourselves thinking of something 
else, as remote from what was to be the sub- 
ject of our thoughts, as the East is from the 
West : with such quickness and dexterity doe« 



THE DEC EITFULN ESS OF THE HEART. Ill 

the heart produce something to amuse us, when 
we are seriously proceeding to business ! We 
recollect ourselves, and go back to the work : 
the heart now begins to recommend delay : the 
proposed examination will take up time, and 
requires leisure : if we are in the city, we must 
wait till we are in the country : if surrounded 
by friends, we must stay till left more to our- 
selves : books must be read, and judicious 
friends consulted : no serious evil, it is con- 
ceived, will result from thus deferring the work 
for a season ; for time will be adding to our 
knowledge, and we shall be more capacitated 
for a work of this nature. 

The heart has all the deceitfulness of a trades- 
man whose affairs are involved ; and for the same 
reason : it knows that if its true state be once 
known, its credit and influence are gone. The 
tradesman, whose affairs are in confusion, is 
averse to nothing so much as balancing accounts 
and settling them : he will have a thousand rea- 
sons to produce, why it had better not be done 
just now : certain accounts must be called in— 
letters written — such and such persons seen 
before the thing can be done; and, all the 
while, he has no intention of bringing matters 
to an issue- — he is merely gaining time : if one 
look into his books, there appears nothing but 



112 



SIXTH SEliMOX, 



confusion — things omitted that ought to have 
been set down, and things standing that ought to 
have been crossed. Thus, when we take a first 
view of the heart, all is chaos and disorder: it 
is a thing unfolding itself, wheel within wheel : 
it is a wilderness, which we know not how to 
get through, or where to enter : we know not 
what to think of our own thoughts and our own 
tempers — what is nature, and what is grace — 
what sins are unto death, and what are merely in- 
firmities : we are at a loss to conduct the process 
of self-examination ; and the utmost that we are 
able to do in general is, to ascertain a few facts 
respecting our state, without being able to come 
at a comprehensive view of it; and all this be- 
cause the heart throws into the back ground 
what ought to be seen, and presents only the un- 
meaning features; and whatever exhibition it 
makes, its object is to misrepresent. 

It will be thought, by some, that the heart 
cannot be thus deceitful, when Divine Grace 
has changed it. In proportion to our grace, 
no doubt, will be our sincerity and self-know- 
ledge: but St. Paul had such conviction of the 
deceitfulness of his heart, that, in that place 
where he warns us against judging others, he 
tells us, he could not so much as take upon 
him to judge himself; for though he was con- 



THK DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEAKT. 113 

scious of no allowed sin, there might be many 
things in his heart of which he knew nothing 
(1 Cor.iv.3,4). 

III. During this discussion it must have been 
a thought, suggesting itself continually to you, 
that the heart is under Satanic influence. This 
is to be inferred, not from the deceitfulness of 
the heart, but from its always exercising its 
powers to such a mischievous purpose. It is 
almost a necessary supposition, that an exter- 
nal agent must be concerned — one who perverts 
all the faculties of the soul to effect its final ruin. 
Let this, then, be the First Inference from 
the text, that we have from experience, some 
strong evidences of the scripture doctrine of 
Satanic agency. 

The next Reflection that we suggest to the 
believer is, that he may now understand why 
Christ is of God, made unto us wisdom (1 Cor. 
i. 30). For how impossible is it to conceive that 
creatures, so miserably apt to be deluded as we 
are, should ever be able to extricate ourselves 
from the snares laid for us by the combined wis- 
dom and wickedness of the devil and the world, 
with a breast more treacherous than either, were 
we not led aright, by some invisible hand! 
Christ, blessed be his name, is an overmatch for 
the heart : though it were furnished with all the 

i 

t 



114 



SIXTH SERMON. 



engines of hell, he can defeat its stratagems and 
traverse its plans ; and he will do so for his 
people— he will deliver us out of the horrible 
pit and the miry clay, and set our feet upon a 
rock, and establish our goings (Ps. xl. 2). He 
has given us his Spirit to be a Spirit of wisdom 
—a Spirit which enables us to descend into the 
depths of the heart, and leads us into some of its 
darkest caverns — a Spirit, which, by revealing 
Jesus, makes us no longer afraid to look at our- 
selves, or to confess before God our secret 
wickedness. In this way the heart becomes 
known and purified : it is renewed in its nature, 
and becomes the abode of sincerity and truth, 
Christ, therefore, and his promised Spirit, is 
the remedy of every evil which we proclaim to 
men— to you, who, without Him, will fall a prey 
to your own wicked and deceitful hearts. 
Those gangrenes are eating their way ; and will 
continue to gain ground, till the whole mass is 
overspread and becomes ripe for destruction. 
Oh, then, think of your danger! What though 
you turn away from the sight of your heart, doth 
not God know it? He that planted the ear, 
shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he 
not see? (Ps. xciv. 9). The Lord knoweth the 
thoughts of men ; and however pure and im- 
maculate your lives may be, he will call you into 
judgment for the sin of your heart*. Leara, theru 



THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART. 115 

where true religion must begin. Mortify the 
desires of your heart — oppose its inclinations — 
thwart its purposes : above all, pray against its 
deceits, and yield it up entirely to Christ. 
Under his care it will become honest, upright, 
pure; and be changed from a flattering foe to a 
wise and faithful monitor. 



\ 



/ 



SERMON VII. 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE 
KINGDOM. 



ACTS XIV. 22> 

We must, through much tribulation, enter into 
the kingdom of God. 

In comparing the state of the children of God 
with that of the ungodly, with a view of ascer- 
taining which of them suffer most in the world, 
no account must be taken of the common 
calamities which are incident to mortality, 
such as sickness, poverty, and death, for these 
fall to their lot equally. Those sufferings 
alone are to be noticed, which are peculiar to 
each. 

The sufferings peculiar to the ungodly are 
those, which are occasioned by the uninter- 
rupted prevalence of sin in the heart; un- 
subdued pride, love of the world, inordinate 
selfishness : these create perpetual disappoint- 
ments and restless anxiety. The sufferings 
peculiar to the godly are those, which owe 



118 SEVENTH SERMON. 

their origin to the remains of sin in them : self- 
will, intent upon its object, encounters the 
Spirit of God : and because we strive where 
we ought to yield, a heart-rending conflict 
ensues ; a conflict by so much the more diffi- 
cult to be borne, as the feelings of the heart 
after conversion possess greater sensibility 
than before: to these are to be added the 
trials which they meet with from Satan and a 
persecuting world. 

We do not question which, upon the whole, 
are the most happy in this world, because the 
Scripture has decided that there isno peace to the 
wicked ; whereas Godliness hath the promise of 
the life that now is, as well as of that which is to 
come (I Tim. iv. 8): and the reason is, that the 
righteous have something within to counter- 
balance their afflictions and convert them into 
benefits ; while the unrighteous have nothing 
correspondent to this, under their calamities : 
there is, therefore, no question about this. 

But if the afflictions that befal the righteous 
and the wicked be compared, without taking 
into account the resources which they may 
respectively have, it will be perhaps difficult to 
decide which suffer most. Nor, indeed, is a 
decision necessary: for no man, anxious for 
salvation, would think of suspending his judg- 
ment upon the determination of this question ; 



TRIBULATION THE WAT TO THE KINGDOM. 119 

but rather judge that the Kingdom of Heaven 
must be entered at all events, whether more or 
less of tribulation is to be encountered in the 
way to it. 

When therefore the Apostle exhorted the 
persecuted disciples to bear in mind, that through 
much tribulation they should enter into the 
kingdom, he did not thereby intimate that 
a godly life was necessarily attended with 
more trouble upon the whole than a wicked 
one; for we rather change our troubles than 
increase them: but only meant to forewarn 
them of what was to be expected, lest the trials 
attending their Christian Profession should 
offend them ; that though they were the fa- 
vourites of God and under his government, they 
should nevertheless meet with much tribu- 
lation. 

I. We will endeavour, with the Divine 
Blessing, to shew the truth of the Apostle's 
words, or that NECESSITY of which he speaks ; 
and then point out the Grounds of that ne- 
cessity. 

That those who are saved must, through much 
tribulation, enter into the kingdom, appears 
evident from these considerations — that, from 
matter of fact, it always has been so— from the 
nature of our circumstances, it is likely it should 



120 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



be so — and, from the appointment of God, it 
cannot be otherwise. 

1. From matter of fact it appears to have 
been always so. 

As the history of mankind, in general, is 
justly observed to be only the catalogue of their 
crimes, so the history of the people of God is 
a narrative of their sufferings for righteousness' 
sake. 

Abel, the first saint that died, brought upon 
himself a violent death, only by offering an 
acceptable sacrifice. Though the piety of Noah 
proved his preservation, yet, during the long 
period of one hundred and twenty years, while 
the Ark was building in obedience to God, 
he was no doubt exposed to the severest trials 
of his faith and patience, amidst the ridicule of 
such a vast majority of contemptuous sinners. 
Abraham, the friend of God, was called to 
many sacrifices painful to human nature : to be 
obliged, as he was at the beginning, to abandon 
his home, and go forth he knew not whither, 
is a trial which we shall best appreciate 
by placing ourselves in similar circumstances ; 
and by conceiving ourselves called to abandon 
a spot, to which we are attached by every 
tender tie, to go to sojourn in a foreign land : 
yet, even in Canaan, he was not suffered to 
enjoy those comforts of a permanent, establish^ 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 121 



ment, which next to grandeur we are so apt 
to idolize : when we consider these things, and 
think of that deepest wound to his feelings, 
the command to offer up his Son, it is to be 
concluded, that, with all his riches and 
prosperity, he found the days of the years 
of his pilgrimage to be full of trouble. Lot, 
his nephew, was long subject to another trial, 
very distressing to a good man : his righteous 
soul was vexed from day to day by the filthy 
conversation of the wicked, among whom he 
dwelt. The sufferings, which all these holy 
men underwent, were such as they would have 
escaped, had they not been saints— such as they 
might have eluded, had they chosen to disobey 
God. Thus also Joseph, for his purity and in- 
tegrity, incurred disgrace, imprisonment, and 
almost death. Job, for the trial of his upright- 
ness, was subjected to the dreadful scourges of 
Satan; and suffered the loss of his property, 
family, health of body, and peace of mind, all 
at once. And because Moses chose to endure 
affliction with the people of God rather than en- 
joy the pleasures of sin, affliction he did endure! 
for, partly from the murmurs of the stiff-necked 
people and the care of governing them, and 
partly from the displeasure of God testified 
against his passionate words which would have 
passed unnoticed had he not been an eminent 



122 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



saint, he must have found his passage through 
the world as toilsome as his pilgrimage through 
the wilderness. And what shall I more say, 
for the time would fail me to tell of David, and 
Samuel, and of the Prophets ; who, if they were 
eminent examples of faith, were also of tribula- 
tion, and the trial of faith. 

The people of God were frequently the ob- 
jects of persecution, in the times immediately 
preceding the coming of Christ. Such were the 
persecutions by Antiochus Epiphanes, when 
thousands were murdered, because they would 
not forsake the Law of God. Others had trial 
of cruel mocking s and scourging, yea moreover of 
bonds and imprisonment. They tvere stoned: 
they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain 
with the sword : they wandered about in sheep 
shins and goat skins ; being destitute, afflicted, 
tormented : they wandered in deserts and in moun- 
tains, and in dens and caves of the earth (Heb. 
xi. 36—38). 

Nor were the saints of the New Testament 
Dispensation exempt from suffering. Could not 
St. Paul, when he spoke the words of the Text, 
testify the truth of it from his own painful expe- 
rience, who was in stripes above measure — in 
prisons frequent, in deaths oft — scourged, stoned, 
shipwrecked — in journeying often, in perils of 
waters, in weariness andpainfulness, in watchings 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 12$ 

of ten, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in 
cold and nakedness ? (2 Cor. xi. 23 — 27-) 

Such were the lives of the Apostles ! of whom 
every one but John was taken off by a violent 
death : and the Christians, spoken of and writ- 
ten to in the New Testament, were evidently 
partakers of their tribulation. Scarcely is there 
a single Epistle, in which affliction is not sup- 
posed or expressed. And St. Peter tells the 
elect strangers, that their case was not singular — - 
Knowing that the same afflictions are accom- 
plished in your brethren that are in the world? 
(1 Pet. v. 9). So St. John: / John, who also 
am your brother and companion in tribulation t 
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ 
(Rev, i. 9). 

With respect to the Christian Believers in 
after ages, wherever the secular historian notices 
them the Church comes forward to view, al- 
most always, in a suffering condition. Where- 
ever the experience of a private saint happens 
to be communicated to us, he appears as a sub- 
ject of sorrows ; and, though there were times 
when the Visible Church enjoyed the sunshine 
of temporal prosperity, yet even then the true 
followers of Christ were, in all probability, no 
strangers to secret sorrows : for, as we proceed 
to notice in the next place, 

2. It is likely, from the nature of our 



124 



SEVENTH SERMON- 



CONDITION in this would, that ail should, 
through much tribulation, enter into the king- 
dom. 

The mere theoretical moralist, who descants 
on the happiness of the good man as if he were 
an angel, not taking into consideration the cor- 
ruption of human nature, will describe him as 
too elevated in his views to be endangered by 
the body — too amiable in his conduct, to be 
persecuted by his fellow-creatures — too firm in 
his resolutions, to yield to Satan. But the real 
condition of the Christian in the world, is suffi- 
cient to prove that picture to be drawn by fancy : 
because, though pure, so far as he is - renewed 
in the spirit of his mind, he finds another law in 
his members warring ag ainst the law of his mind: 
and, again, though holy in all his conduct, he is 
among creatures who have no taste for holiness : 
and, though he is finally victorious over Satan, 
he is often worsted in the interim. 

It is no more than likely, then, that, from his 
flesh, or the corrupted part of his nature, the 
child of God should go through much tribula- 
tion : it is likely that he should, at times, be the 
subject of evil tempers; and that he should be 
betrayed into rash and passionate language, and 
be guilty of unbecoming selfishness, instead of 
observing what is lovely and of good report— 
that he should be at times careless and irreve- 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 125 



rent in prayer— find strong reluctance to spiri- 
tual duties and the keeping of his heart with 
diligence — that he should, through fear or care- 
lessness, be betrayed into a sinful conformity 
to the world, or dissimulate before them — that 
he should be apt to be impatient in sickness, 
distress of circumstances, loss of friends, or 
other common calamities of life — that there 
should be times when he would fear that he 
had lost all happiness, by having renounced 
the world — and what is worse, after all these 
things that he should remain, for a considerable 
time, hard-hearted and unfeeling at the recol- 
lection of them. 

This is tribulation ! for sin, in its nature and 
consequences, is grievous to the children of 
God; but especially that sin which exists in 
themselves. When they remember how their 
sin casts a veil over the light of God's counte- 
nance, grieves the Holy Spirit, and crucifies 
the Son of God— how it sometimes brings a 
reproach upon their holy faith, and an occasion 
to the enemies to blaspheme — how it defiles 
their souls, and checks their advances in the 
divine life — their reflections upon their own 
sinfulness are accompanied with the keenest 
remorse. Or, if they should find themselves 
convinced of sin, yet incapable of sorrowing 
for it after a godly sort— which is often the 



128 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



case, as the effect of sin is to harden the heart — 
then is their anguish extreme: for the chief 
relief to a good man, after the commission of 
evil, is to be able to weep and mourn — to loath 
and abhor himself before God, with a broken 
and contrite spirit. 

These are some of the severest trials which 
we feel, because all these originate from our- 
selves — ourselves are to blame: and, from that 
consideration, arises the remorse of a self- 
accusing conscience. 

But other trials are to be expected from the 
world, who are enemies to God on account of 
his holiness, and will therefore be so to his 
people on the same account. Is it then to be 
wondered at, Christian Brethren, that the world 
which lieth in wickedness should contribute 
to our tribulation ? No : Marvel not, saith St, 
John, if the world hate you: you have no 
reason to be surprised at it. If we testify of 
the world that its works are evil, and they are 
so ignorant as not to see the sterling excellency 
of a godly character, and have naturally such 
bad dispositions as we are taught that all men 
have by nature, can we expect aught else from 
them but dislike and contempt ? May we 
not naturally suppose that they will, at times, 
give vent to their dislike of Christian serious- 
ness, by the satirical smile or disdainful sneer? 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. I2T 



— that they should watch our words and actions, 
to ensnare us, and misrepresent the most 
innocent of them? — that they should carp 
and slander, and speak evil of our good, and 
magnify our infirmities with cruel pleasure ? 
You know how they treated our Lord with all 
his amiableness and wisdom — what may not 
be expected, after this ? Nay, is it not rather 
a wonder, that the enemies of the Church of 
Christ in different countries, when in possession 
of secular power, should be so mild and mode- 
rate as they are ? It were far more probable 
that the faggot should be flaming at the stake 
all day, and the axe of the executioner ever 
reeking with the blood of the saints. We are, 
therefore, not to think it strange concerning 
the fiery trial that is to try us, as though some 
strange thing happened unto us (I Pet. iv. 12); 
but to regard it as a natural and necessary con- 
sequence of existing causes, that we should 
enter into the kingdom through much tribula- 
tion from the world. 

Again, when we consider the power and 
purposes of Satan — how he cruelly labours for 
the ruin of men, and will maliciously harass 
those whom he cannot destroy — how he had 
skill sufficient to deceive our first parents in 
their innocence, and madness enough to tempt 
the immaculate Son of God—say, Tempted 



128 



SEVENTH SERMOX. 



Brethren, was it to be expected, that he should 
let any of you pass unmolested through your 
course ? Is he too busy in practising upon 
others, to have leisure to attend to you ? or does 
he account your soul too worthless to repay 
his pains I None of these things can be. It 
is, therefore, fully to be expected, that there 
should be certain moments in a believer s life 
when Satan is at hand. It shall be, that the 
tempter stands by us when we pray, and sup- 
plies plentiful occasions of distraction, and 
helps us to exchange a word with every passing 
thought. Now that this invisible enemy is to 
be seen by the eye of faith, we may know 
whence it is that the heart is startled at the 
blasphemous thought which it finds constantly 
recurring, and why it trembles to pray lest it 
should involuntarily think of some monstrous 
wickedness ; for these are fiery darts which 
may be looked for from so foul a foe. From 
the same source we may expect to be 
harassed with hard thoughts of God, difficulty 
in believing his promises, and all the perplex- 
ing train of doubts, and fears, and groundless 
suspicions. 

Wherefore, from the united consideration of 
all these things, we may infer that there is a 
high probability of our entering into the King- 
dom of God through much tribulation, 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 129 

3. But. lastly, from the purpose of god, 
we are to understand that it must be so. 

Whatever the reason may be, God has cer- 
tainly determined that his people shall suffer 
in this world. / will leave in the midst of thee 
an afflicted and poor people, said the Lord to 
Jerusalem (Zeph. hi. 12). Whether their afflic- 
tions come immediately from his hand, or 
through the instrumentality of others, it is imma- 
terial : for God is not taken by surprise by 
any thing that happens to his people; and 
therefore if he gives them warning of any thing 
that shall befal them, that shall befal them 
because he has forewarned them. Hence all 
that our Saviour predicts concerning the suffer- 
ings of his people, is a proof of what is God s 
determination respecting them. And what did 
he say on this subject? In the world ye shall 
have tribulation. If they have persecuted me, 
they will also persecute you. Paul was to be told 
on his conversion, not how great things he must 
do, but how great things he must suffer for 
Christ's sake (Acts ix. 16). Neither did the 
Apostles hesitate to tell the people what would 
be the inevitable consequence of being be- 
lievers : All that will live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim. iii. 12). 
And, accordingly, when the Thessalonians had 
actual experience of the truth of these predie- 

K 



180 SEVENTH SERMON. 

tions, he exhorts them not to be moved by these 
afflictions; for yourselves know that we art 
appointed thereunto : for, verily , ivhen we were 
with you, we told you before that we should suffer 
tribidation ; even as it came to pass, and ye 
know (1 Thess. iii. 3, 4). 

Affliction, then, is our necessary portion; 
and is the badge by which, next to the blood of 
Christ, saints are known in heaven, What are 
these which are arrayed in white robes? and 
whence came they ? And I said unto him, Sir, 
thou hnowest ; and he said to me, These are they 
which came out of great tribulation, and have 
washed their robes and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb (Rev. vii. 13, 14). 

Let us, therefore, be aware, that, as affliction 
cometh not forth of the dust, so it is a settled 
affair in the counsels of God, that tribulation^ 
in one form or other, shall be the lot of his 
people : not, however, that their lives shall be 
spangled over with brilliant occurrences, the 
retrospect of which might flatter their pride; 
but attended with such circumstances as, though 
not interesting in the narrative, are very pain- 
ful in experience. 

II. Respecting the Reasons of this appoint- 
ment, we have no right to expect any informa- 
tion : for, to every impatient question this answer 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 131 

may be given — Nay, but O man, who art thou 
that repliest against God! and much more, 
" Nay, but O sinner, &c." Be still, and know 
that I am God, God's sovereignty is sufficient 
to silence all objections. Man, as a creature 
has no right to complain — man, as a sinner, in 
disgrace, should shut his mouth for ever. 

Yet, since God hath first spoken and opened 
his mind, we may proceed, from Scripture, 
humbly to inquire, in the second place, into 
the REASONABLENESS of this appointment, 

1 . Here let us remark, in the first place, that no 
harm shall ever come to us from tribulation. It 
shall never separate us from the love of Christ : 
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall 
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 
nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these 
things we are more than conquerors! (Rom.viii. 35, 
37). Again, the Lord doth not permit or appoint 
our afflictions, because he takes pleasure in them ; 
for He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the 
children of men (Lam. iii. 33) : nay, so far from this, 
St. James, after bidding us take the Prophets as 
an example of suffering affliction, adds, Ye have 
seen the end of the Lord — under what character 
the Lord appears at last — how benign his aspect, 
when the clouds break, and we discover his pur- 
pose — that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender 
(James t. ll). For our further satisfac- 

K 2 



182 



SEVENTH SERMOX. 



tion it is told us, God is faith/id, who will not 
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able 
(1 Cor. x. 13) : the same truth is expressed in 
Isaiah, 27th chap. 8th verse, In measure, wlien 
it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he 
stayeth his rough wind, in the day of the east 
ivind — he does not permit them ordinarily to 
blow together. And what is better still, he has 
given us a Saviour to sympathize with us in all 
our distress and tribulation which we endure : 
thus it is said of the Israelites of old, In all 
their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel 

of his presence saved them and carried them 

all the days of old (Is. lxiii. 9). The same kind 
friend is our's : for we have not a High Priest, 
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our 
infirmities, but ivas in all points tempted like as 
we are (Heb. iv. 15). 

But still the question is not answered, " Why 
doth God afflict his people?" 

We answer, that it is chiefly to make them 
holy — to restore that image, which we lost in 
Adam ; and so to make us meet to be partakers 
of the inheritance of the saints in light. " But 
why cannot this end be accomplished without 
affliction? Why might it not be attained in 
the way of prosperity and innocent pleasure?" 
to this we must say, that the Spirit of God is 
certainly not confined to any particular means 



TRIBULATION THE WAV TO THE KINGDOM. 138 

in the execution of his designs ; and might, 
therefore, if he pleased, make worldly pro- 
sperity the instrument of our sanctification : but 
he chooses to make his dispensations of grace 
analogous, in a certain degree, to his opera- 
tions in nature : hence, because affliction has a 
natural tendency to improve our behaviour — as 
it often takes from the proud man some of his 
pride, as it did Nebuchadnezzar's ; and from 
the worldly-minded some of his love of the 
world ; and teaches the hard-hearted pity and 
compassion, without, however, changing the 
heart — the Spirit of God is pleased to employ 
affliction as an instrument in his great work. 
This may tend to reconcile the children of God 
to the mode of treatment, in general, which is 
employed toward them. 

Let us therefore consider, by a reference to 
their own experience, how the proposed end is 
actually attained by it. 

1 . One of the first benefits derived to us from 
sanctified affliction, is a submissive spirit: 
Tribulation worketh patience. 

The pride and arrogance of our hearts, and 
their stubborn contradiction to the will of God, 
are little known to us in prosperity: while 
things continue to smile upon us, and the train of 
events of each day is for the most part agreeable, 
our rebellious disposition lies quiet : we suppose 



184 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



ourselves pleased with God, because his Pro- 
vidence is such as pleases us. But, when we 
are brought under the stroke of real affliction, 
and become subjects of those dispensations 
which are not only in some respects unpleasant 
but are wholly contradictory to our flesh and 
such as no contrivances will enable us to alle- 
viate, the latent self-will begins to stir, and the 
soul will be tome with raging discontent, till we 
make up our mind to submit. 

A really afflictive dispensation, which is in- 
tended for our good, is that, in which there are 
little or no counterbalancing pleasures— that, 
from which there appears no outlet, or a very 
distant one : for, in such cases, the only way left 
for the soul to find peace in is, to lie down in 
quietness. As, in the taming of a wild beast, his 
struggles only bring upon him greater force 
and harder usage, but, when he yields, he is left 
to rest ; so, while the soul is under the discipline 
of God, its shortest way to peace, according to 
the constitution of things, is to submit to the 
treatment which God sees necessary. 

Submission like this is an exercise, and 
therefore an improvement, of a submissive spirit; 
when we are patient, not from the hope of a 
speedy deliverance, or because we have dis- 
covered some alleviating circumstances, but 
from the consideration that God has appointed 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINDOM. 185 

it. Affliction, by being accompanied with such 
circumstances as to leave us no alternative 
but to be patient or else miserable, has a most 
powerful tendency, through the agency of the 
Spirit, to reduce our rebellious tempers to a 
disposition which becomes creatures : and the 
acquisition of such a temper we suppose indis- 
pensably necessary for one, who is to enter into 
the kingdom of heaven. 

This, then, is one use of tribulation — to make 
us come down from the place of God to that 
of creatures — to sink our haughty spirits into 
profound self-abasement upon earth; that, in 
heaven, we may have no will left, but to do the 
will of God. 

2. Another use of tribulation is to make us 

HEAVENLY MINDED. 

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
God; neither will the carnal mind find aught 
to gratify it in heaven. It is a spiritual place, 
and its enjoyments are fitted for pure spirits. 
We must, therefore, acquire a taste for spiritual 
pleasures, before we can be fit for the kingdom 
of God. This taste cannot be formed, unless 
we meditate on them with frequency and 
affection: we cannot meditate on them, till 
we cease to idolize earthly things : and this, 
alas! it is to be feared, we shall not cease to 
do, till the world is embittered to us, in some 
way or other. But when we have learned, by 



136 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



mournful experience, the vanity of the crea- 
ture, then the soul, which has been quickened 
with Christ by regeneration and raised up with 
him to sit in heavenly places, launches far away 
in contemplation of the glories of another 
world. Oh, how ardent its faith! — how strong 
and vivid its desires! — how does it breathe after 
God, and struggle to escape from the entangle- 
ments of time and sense, that it may breathe a 
purer air and hold communion with God! Oh, 
that I had ivings like a dove, says the perse- 
cuted Psalmist, then would I flee away and he 
at rest. 

" Since it pleases God," the "afflicted saint 
will say, " to make it a thorny path to me, 
and my way to lie through a howling wilder- 
ness — since he hath made my dearest enjoy- 
ments short-lived, and caused my fondest 
schemes to end in disappointment — since the 
friends, and connections, and situation, and 
circumstances, which I looked forward to in 
earlier life, as desirable above all things, have 
rather proved occasions of sorrow — since the 
selfishness of some, the ingratitude of others, 
and the persecuting dispositions of the ungodly 
world, added to my inward trials and tempta- 
tions, leave me but little comfort in this life — 
henceforth I will live for another world: from 
the harassing vexations that assail me, I will 
flee to the bosom of Him, who will be to me as 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 137 

a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from 
the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; 
as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land 
(Is. xxxii. 2). Blessed be God, that he has 
left so little on earth to enchain my affections — 
that he has said to me, by all these afflictions, 
Arise, for this is not thy rest: henceforth, there- 
fore, I desire to live as a stranger and pilgrim upon 
earth, looking at something beyond the present 
scene : my heart and affections shall dwell with 
Christ, in fairer worlds on high : there the 
wicked cease from troubling, there the weary be 
at rest" (Job iii. 17). 

Thus is devotion purified — hope enlivened— 
faith made more active — and all the affections 
more spiritual, by means of sanctified affliction. 
There is a spirituality, an unction, a divine 
power pervading the prayers and conversation 
of a suffering saint, which mere knowledge 
or sound understanding, brilliancy of imagina- 
tion or enthusiastic raptures, may imitate, but 
cannot express. 

3. Tribulation has a yet further use, in 
strengthening our spiritual knowledge 
of Christ. 

Union to Christ, and communion with him, 
kre the main stamina of the soul— the secret 
springs of that life, the continuance of which 
appears to most men so unaccountable. He is 



138 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. i. 30) ; 
and in him we are to walk, rooted and grounded 
in him. Union to him we receive at our spiri- 
tual birth ; but that communion with him and 
dependance on his grace, which ought to result 
from the union which subsists, we are slow to 
understand, and still more so to practise : we 
grope in the dark, seeking something to help us 
forward in the way of holiness ; and take up with 
such as may come to hand, instead of abiding 
steadily in Christ. Hence, whatever has a ten- 
dency to keep Him before our minds, is of the 
highest importance to us. 

Affliction may do this : for, as a person 
will naturally take great interest in those suffer- 
ings of others which correspond to his own, and 
the books which describe these and the persons 
who have felt them will possess a particular in- 
terest in his view ; so the disciple of Christ will 
be disposed to look to his Master, and consider 
his example. In his life (for he was a Wan of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief) the suffering 
Christian will find something analogous to his 
own case : for in all things he was made like 
unto his brethren — in all points he was tempted 
like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. ii. 17; iv. 1 5). 
And though we may urge that our Lord could 
have had no conflict with sin, which may be per- 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. ISO 

haps our severest trial ; yet he determined to 
have the nearest experience of that too, which 
a spotless being could have — namely, by sub- 
mitting to the temptations of Satan, by which 
means he became acquainted with our trials 
arising from corruption ; for the suggestions of 
corruption and those of Satan are scarcely to 
be distinguished by the most discriminating 
judgments. 

Finding, then, in Christ's sufferings, a coun- 
terpart of our own, we shall love to contem- 
plate Him, and remark His conduct, His resig- 
nation and self-denial ; and thus shall gradually 
acquire a similarity of sentiment, and a union 
of heart with the Blessed Jesus. Such consi- 
deration of the sufferings of Christ is itself an 
act of a life of faith upon him ; but one exer- 
cise of it leads to another. While our suffer- 
ings keep Jesus and his sufferings in our view, 
we shall not be so apt to forget the nature and 
object of those sufferings of his: we shall re- 
joice to think that it was out of love to ourselves 
that he died for us — that as a reward for all he 
underwent as our surety, he has received an 
unmeasurable fulness of the Spirit for his peo- 
ple, especially his afflicted ones, who most need 
it : hence, we shall cast our souls with all their 
misery upon him— trust to his tender care for 
watching by us, while we are refining in the fur- 



140 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



nace of affliction — and expect to receive grace 
to help us in every time of need. 

Let it not be forgotten, on the other hand, 
that the suffering condition of his people is, of 
itself, a sufficient reason for Christ's looking 
down upon them with peculiar regard: even 
before they call, he answers — gives them pa- 
tience — and comes, of his own accord, to bless 
them with extraordinary manifestations of his 
presence. As the sufferings of Christ abound in 
us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 
As ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye 
be also of the consolation (2 Cor. i. 5, 7). 

Upon the whole., then, it is certain that a state 
of tribulation improves our spiritual knowledge 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by inducing an ap- 
plication to his grace, and by drawing down 
communications from his fulness. 

Probably the experience of many of my 
hearers will suggest many other uses of afflic- 
tion ; but, with the three before-mentioned, we 
shall close, as considering them the most com- 
prehensive and important. 

III. Let us, before we conclude, ADDRESS 
the different persons who compose this as- 
sembly. 

Afflicted Brethren ! is it a sad necessity 
imposed upon us, that we must, through much 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 141 

tribulation, enter into the kingdom ? O no ! if 
such be its precious effects, let us not be startled 
at affliction ; nor provoke God to listen to our 
prayers for its premature removal. Be patient, 
therefore : and while nature pours out her com- 
plaints, use no undue method of being rid of 
your trouble ; but be more anxious for the ac- 
complishment of the purposes of affliction, than 
for the removal of it. Is it too much to require 
you to rejoice in it? the patient, who is assured 
of cure, does not act properly, who only resigns 
himself to the physician sullenly : he should do 
it with alacrity and joy ; and thus you are ex- 
horted by the Apostles to glory in tribulation 
(Rom. v. 3) ; to be strengthened with all might 
according to his glorious power, unto all patience 
and long-suffering, with joyfulness (Col. i. 11); 
to count it all joy wlien ye fall into divers 
temptations (James i. 2) ; to glory in infirmities 
(2 Cor. xii. 5) ; for unto you it is given, on the 
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but 
also to suffer for his sake (Phil. i. 29). It is a 
high privilege to believe in him ; but how much 
more to suffer for him ? 

After all the false dimensions which an exag- 
gerating fancy, disordered by fear, will assign 
to our troubles, how small are they! — small 
indeed, for creatures escaped from hell ! For 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 



142 



SEVENTH SERMON. 



to be compared with the glory which shall he 
revealed in us! (Rom, viii. 18). And our light 
affliction, which is hut for a moment, worketh 
for us a far More exceeding and eternal weight 
of Glory (2 Cor.iv. 17). 

Because it has been said that tribulation is 
unavoidable, let not the inexperienced chris- 
tian be discouraged, at being, in a great mea- 
sure, a stranger to such trouble, as if his exemp- 
tion were a proof of unsoundness ; for God, in 
wisdom, permits us to be tried in proportion to 
our strength. Beware, therefore, of courting 
persecution, lest the cross which you bring upon 
yourself, you should be obliged to bear yourself : 
hy and by, tribulation or persecution will arise 
because of the word (Mat. xiii. 21). 

For the careless part of my audience, this 
subject will possess little interest. They will 
say that this is to dress religion in a black attire, 
which she never meant to wear — that what they 
have heard has been probably dictated by mis- 
anthropic spleen, and written with a pen dipt 
deep in melancholy. They resolve, if they 
have any religion, that it shall be such as 
shall leave them in full possession of the plea- 
sures of this world, for that is the amiable reli- 
gion of our Saviour ! But what says Christ? 

Woe unto you that are full I for ye shall hunger. 

W oe un to you tha t laugh now ! for ye shall mourn 



TRIBULATION THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 14S 



mid weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall 
speak well of you ! for so did their fathers to the 
false prophets (Luke vi. 25, 26). Your exemption, 
therefore, from spiritual trouble, is a privilege 
by no means enviable. Not to mention the 
emptiness of carnal pleasure, let me ask, what 
are the reflections of persons on their death- 
bed? are they pleased at having declined the 
cross ; and lived in vanity, and the favour of the 
world ? No : they reflect, how much better it 
would have been to have fought bravely the 
battles of God ; and, through the blood of op- 
posing enemies, to have waded to a throne on 
high. Then consider the matter, Brethren. Sit 
down, and count the cost. Choose rather, 
through grace, to suffer tribulation with the 
people of God. Won by the love of Christ in 
suffering for you, be not unwilling to suffer a 
little for Him: so, when the sorrows of the 
world are beginning, yours shall end : when, 
with all the nations that forget God, they shall 
be turned into hell, you shall join the redeemed 
of the Lord, who shall return and come to 
Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads : 
having passed through your tribulation, you 
shall see it no more : you shall obtain joy and 
gladness ; and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away. 



SERMON VII! 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 



colossians ii. 6. 

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the 
Lord, so walk ye in him. 

The way in which a Christian Believer must 
walk in his passage through this world to the 
next, is a way which we are by no means apt 
to observe, or disposed to adhere to. It is new 
and singular in its nature : it cannot be identi- 
fied with any other : in consequence of which, 
the wise, who would walk in it, must begin 
where the foolish do ; and proceed, step by step, 
in ground constantly new ; seeing nothing which 
past experience had made familiar to them. It 
requires, moreover, such vigilance and atten- 
tion, such spiritual and elevated affections, such 
exercise of the inward faculties, and, withal, 
such simplicity, that we are too ignorant, too 
indolent, and too proud to discover this way 
of Christian Sanctification, and then to keep 
in it. 

L 



146 



EIGHTH SERMON", 



Hence, the samts and brethren at Colosse, 
though well spoken of, upon the whole, for their 
faith in Christ Jesus and their love in the Spirit, 
needed an exhortation on that head. They 
had been corrupted in some degree, or were in 
danger of becoming so, by the introduction of 
outward observances, or human methods of 
sanctification, instead of the simple way of 
living by faith in Christ. Their learned Hea- 
then neighbours, drawing them into disputes on 
some difficult points, might make them ashamed 
of Christ Crucified ; or, more probably, teach- 
ers, newly converted from Heathenism, might, 
through their imperfect views of the glory of 
the Gospel, attempt to garnish their doctrine 
with maxims and sentiments concerning mora- 
lity, such as were most in vogue among the 
Heathen Literati at the time. There are cer- 
tain men, who, because they possess somewhat 
more learning than others, think, when they 
become converts to the Gospel, that they are 
great acquisitions to the cause : they officiously 
extend the shield of their learning over their 
more unlearned brethren, and try to prove 
where others beeieve: but, while they think 
they promote the cause, they generally spoil 
what they touch. Therefore they are thus cau- 
tioned :—JBeivare lest any man spoil you, through 
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 



147 



men, after the rudiments of the world, and not 
after Christ (v. 8). Every part of true religion 
may be learnt new from the Bible. The Word 
of God, though it lends aid to other books, 
receives it from none. 

Similar caution was added respecting those 
teachers among them that Judaized, or added 
Jewish observances to Christianity, with the 
desire of making their obedience complete. 
Ye are complete in him, they are told (v. 10). 
Let no man therefore judge or condemn you in 
meat or drink, or in respect of a holy day(y. 16). 
Let no man agitate your minds by charging you 
with neglects in these external observances : 
they were once necessary, but these are a sha- 
dow of things to come, but the body is Christ : 
therefore penances, fasts, and austerities, which 
are so valuable in the sight of the Heathens and 
form so large a part of corrupt Christianity, are 
now done away. 

These were the prohibitions given them. The 
command and positive rule, laid down for their 
consistent walk and effectual sanctification, is 
to be seen in the text: As ye have received 
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. 

Here are two important sentences — one dis- 
covering the beginning, the other the progress, 
of the Christian Life — one the gate, the other 
the way in which it opens. 

l2 



148 



EIGHTH SERMON. 



The beginning of all true religion is, receiv- 
ing christ jesus. Not merely receiving his 
baptism or his name, but the Lord himself. 
The receiving of Christ is essential: where 
Christ is not found our religion is only a name. 

Is it asked, " What is meant by receiving 
Christ?" It is to receive him as God's un- 
speakable gift— -provided by the love of the 
Father, before the foundation of the world ; 
and bestowed freely on us sinful men, without 
regard to our deserts. It is to receive him 
as our atoning sacrifice and justifying righteous- 
ness — cordially accepting him as of God, made 
unto us ivisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi- 
cation, and redemption — coming to him, as the 
foundation laid by God — believing in him, as 
the appointed Saviour — and making him the 
ground of our hope of acceptance with God, 
to the exclusion of all other hopes. It is also, 
to receive him as our lord, whose commands 
alone are to be obeyed : this may be the chief 
import of the words ; for they may be trans- 
lated, As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus 
to be your Lord, so walk ye in him : where the 
reception is real, or the faith genuine, there will 
accompany it humility, love, devotedness : there- 
fore to say that we receive Christ Jesus the Lord, 
is to say, that we receive him with the conscious- 
ness that we are sinners, perishing under the 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 149 

wrath of God : as a dying man receives the last 
medicine that restores his life, or as a drowning 
man seizes the kind hand that saves him, with 
like joy and love we receive God the Saviour, 
and gratitude consecrates to him the rest of 
life. 

This is the beginning of our new course to- 
ward heaven — the stretching of our wings to- 
ward the skies : and thrice happy are ye, Chil- 
dren of God, who have become such through 
Christ Jesus. It is our continuance in this way, 
that we are to consider from this text. As ye 
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye 
in him. 

To walk in Christ is :~ 

I. To CONTINUE TO APPLY HIS BLOOD for 
the cleansing of our consciences from guilt. 

It is a common experience of the children of 
God, but especially of those who are begin- 
ning their Christian Life, that, when they fall 
into sin or feel their hearts averse to duty, a con- 
sciousness of guilt arises, which destroys then- 
peace, and proves a grievous hindrance to them. 
The fear of being under the displeasure of God 
alienates their affections from him, and makes 
them unwilling to pray ; and, therefore, religion 
no longer affords them pleasure : they become 
dissatisfied with its restraints ; and thus, while 



150 



EIGHTH SERMON. 



they are waiting for a better disposition and 
state of mind with which they may come with 
acceptance before God, unbelief is gaming 
ground, and imperceptibly causing them to de- 
part farther and farther from God. 

This is, because they lose sight of the Blood 
of Christ ; or make not that use of it which it is 
their privilege to do : for Christ is the appointed 
means, not only of our obtaining reconciliation 
with God at first, but of securing his favour and 
walking with him in love. Through him we 
have access by faith, into this grace wherein we 
stand (Rom. v. 2). Such is the everlasting 
efficacy of his blood, that it was necessary that 
he should shed it but once : and now once, in the 
end of the world, hath he appeared to put away 
sin, by the sacrifice of himself (Heb. ix. 26) : but, 
by that one oblation, he obtained eternal 
redemption for us ; and by that one offering, 
has perfected for ever them that are sanctified 
(Heb. ix. 12; x. 14). His blood is called a foun- 
tain opened for sin and for uncleanness, to sig- 
nify, that as a fountain sends forth fresh streams 
for daily and hourly purification, so the blood of 
Christ is intended for the continual application 
of sinners to it. 

The purpose of these constant applications 
to the Blood of Christ, is not indeed altogether 
the same as that of our first act of coming to him : 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK . 



151 



for that was to obtain the favour of God, and 
the repeal of the curse which had gone out 
against us ; whereas these daily repeated acts of 
faith on his blood are more as memorials 
before God, and chiefly for the preservation of 
our own peace : thus our Lord said to Peter, 
He, that is washed, needeth not save to wash his 
feet, hut is clean every whit (John xiii. 10). It is 
also described as a way or road to God; by 
which we may learn, that it is not like the 
drawbridge which is taken up after you have 
passed over, but it remains fixed and open to 
all like the king's highway. 

It is one of his attributes, Jesus Christ, the 
same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever (Heb. 
xiii. 8). Besides the perpetual value which the 
blood of Christ hath in the sight of God, he is 
himself pleading the merit of it at his Father's 
throne; and, on the ground of that, makes 
unceasing intercession for his people. We are, 
therefore, encouraged to come boldly to the 
throne of grace, seeing he ever liveth to make 
intercession for us; and to draw near with a true 
heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts 
sprinkled from an evil conscience (Heb. x. 22). 

Let us, then, be careful, Dear Brethren, when 
we fall into sin, never to remain at a distance 
from God, in a sullen and slavish despondency, 
as we are apt to do; for conscious guilt will 



152 



EIGHTH SERMON. 



never remedy itself, but rather revive the an- 
cient enmity against God. On the contrary, 
though our guilt be dark and threatening, and 
corruptions rage, let us, in spite of ourselves, 
flee, without a moment's delay, to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. What else can we do? Lord, to 
whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of 
eternal life — Without me, ye can do nothing 
(John vi. 68 ; xv. 5). Think not that ye will be 
rejected for all your iniquities : his death and 
intercession secure your pardon. 

II. To walk in Christ, is TO LIVE IN DEPEN- 
DANCE ON HIS GRACE. 

It hath pleased the Father, that in him 
should all fulness dwell (Col. i. 19); and it is 
also his pleasure, that the spiritual life of his 
children should be maintained, by receiving 
out of that fulness, grace for grace. 

But we are slow to learn the practical use of 
these privileges, as is evident from the general 
unsteadiness of our walk. Tottering in our 
steps, and wandering in our course, are evident 
signs that we lean too little on the arm of 
another. The surprise and confusion which 
we are thrown into on the unexpected arrival 
of some trial, are proofs that we walk too much 
in dependance on our own wisdom, without 
considering ourselves as under the guidance 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 



158 



of another. If the Prophet's servant had seen 
the chariots of fire round about the mountain 
he would not have been so terrified. And this 
is more evident still, from that solicitude and 
anxiety, those fears, suspicions, and surmises, 
about things to come, both temporal and spi- 
ritual, which form so large a part of our woes. 

Now it is our duty and our privilege to feel, 
and to be in the habit of feeling, that we have 
no wisdom nor strength of our own; but are in 
such a state of weakness, that, if left to our- 
selves, we sink quickly to sin and hell. We 
should never suppose that we are alone, steer- 
ing our own way across the ocean of life ; but 
keep it always in mind, that the Lord is at the 
helm. 

Nor should these thoughts consist of the 
mere general assent of the mind to the truth of 
God's assisting the righteous ; but they should 
be the convictions of faith in that new Covenant 
of Grace, which provides the great Mediator 
to be to us in the stead of our own wisdom and 
strength. 

To walk in Christ, is to remember always 
that we have thus, in the person of Christ, all 
the powers of the Godhead and all the sym- 
pathies of the Manhood interested about us 
and attached to us ; that Christ being with us 
as God, it is the infinite strength of the Almighty 



154 



EIGHTH SERMON. 



that defends — unerring wisdom that guides — 
and everlasting love that comforts us; that, as 
Man, we have in him one that is experimentally 
acquainted with our sorrows, trials, and tempta- 
tions, and disposed to sympathize with us. 

To walk in Christ is so to acknowledge him 
in these relations, as to place an unbounded 
confidence in him. If it be the pressure of 
present affliction, whether temporal or spiritual, 
that is our trial, we should assure ourselves that 
it is permitted or appointed by Him — regulated 
by Him in its duration and degree; and that it 
shall eventually forward our sanctification ; 
and that, in the mean time, grace shall be given 
us to bear it patiently. If future difficulties 
foreseen, anxiety about our being faithful in 
such and such circumstances, be the cause of 
distress — and our creative fancy is ever invent- 
ing something or other to terrify us— all such 
disquieting fears are to be removed by leaving 
these difficulties with Christ; as the sheep 
looks to the shepherd for food, the wife to the 
husband for protection. 

How happy the life thus spent in dependance 
on Jesus! As the little child enjoys itself 
without a thought in its mind about its main- 
tenance, for it knows that this is its parent's 
care, so is it the believers privilege to enjoy a 
perfect serenity by simply trusting to his Divine 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK, 155 

Lord : Be careful for nothing ; but, in every 
thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanks- 
giving, let your requests be made known unto 
God ; and the peace of God, which passeth all 
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds 
through Christ Jesus (Phil. iv. 6, 7). 

It is this life of faith that is spoken of in 
the Canticles, when the Church is described as 
going up from the wilderness leaning- on her 
beloved ; and this was the life of the holy Paul, 
and the secret cause of his eminence in holi- 
ness : I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; 
and the life which I noiv live in the flesh, Hive 
by the faith of the Son of God (Gal. ii. 20). 
And not only in general, but he mentions parti- 
cular instances of his life of faith : at the time 
of his praying for the removal of the thorn in 
the flesh, when he was assured by the Lord 
Jesus that His grace w as sufficient for him, he 
cordially receives the dispensation on these 
terms, and adds, Most gladly, therefore, will I 
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of 
Christ may rest upon me (2 Cor. xii. 9). When 
he stood before the lion at Rome, he saw by 
faith the Lord standing by him strengthening 
him. 

The holy Apostle was well acquainted with 
this divine life ; and it is a just occasion of 
grief and humiliation that we are such strangers 



( 



156 EIGHTH SERMON. 

to it. Pride and carelessness are the principal 
reasons of our having, in general, no more than 
a faint glimmering of it. We know not our 
corruption — we forget our weakness — our lips 
confess that we are wretched, and miserable, 
and poor and blind, and naked; but our 
hearts are, notwithstanding, at the same time, 
as the hearts of those who say that they are 
rich and increased in goods and have need of 
nothing. Hence we encounter temptations or 
other difficulties in our own strength ; and if, 
by God's grace, we are conquerors, we feel 
self-complacency. But, in general, the tenour 
of our walk is careless : so that the hours and 
days are spent without exertion to keep our 
hearts in a spiritual frame ; and therefore it is 
no wonder if the heart, left to take its own 
course, should seldom feel the necessity of 
seeking help from Christ. Hence self-knowledge 
and diligence must be exercised, in order to our 
understanding rightly that part of the life of 
faith, which consists in our dependance upon 
his grace. 

III. To walk in Christ, is TO FOLLOW HIS 
EXAMPLE. Whom he did foreknow, he also did 
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his 
Son (Rom. viii. 29). 

Conformity to the example of Christ is, 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 



157 



indeed, only another word for spotless per- 
fection; but it is confessedly a great help 
toward the attainment of perfection to be fur- 
nished, not only with written directions, but 
with a pattern by which to form ourselves: 
for if, at any time, doubts arise whether we are 
indeed following the prescribed rules, our con- 
duct may be brought to the test by observing 
if it correspond to the pattern : for instance, if 
a person should be disposed to argue for public 
amusements, though they are not expressly for- 
bidden s it is immediately decided by asking 
whether the Saviour would go to enjoy himself 
in such scenes of vanity and dissipation. A 
reference to the pattern has also this advantage 
attending it, that it enables us more easily to 
preserve a due proportion and harmony between 
the respective parts of the copy : for instance, 
persons are often actuated with what they sup- 
pose a laudable zeal, and know not their own 
spirit, till, on comparing themselves with their 
Lord, they discover that their zeal is not in pro- 
portion to their love and humility. 

Thus Christ's holy life affords facilities for 
the general adjustment of our own ; and every 
particular also of his offices, walk, and conver- 
sation, exemplifies every particular of our own. 

Thus we may learn from Him that which is 



S58 



EIGHTH SERMOX. 



the beginning of all sincere obedience, namely, 
a renunciation of our own will : as it is written, 
We ought not to please ourselves, but every one 
to please his neighbour for his good to edifi- 
cation, for even Christ pleased not himself (Rom. 
xv. 1—3). 

The mortification of sin may also be learnt 
from his pattern, as St. Peter teaches : Foras- 
much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the 
flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind 
(1 Peter iv. 1): that is, do you also crucify the 
flesh with its affections and lusts. 

Humility is best learnt from considering 
Christ. Let nothing be done through strife or 
vain-glory. Let this mind he in you, which was 
also in Christ Jesus : who, being in the form of 
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with 
God: but made himself of no reputation, and 
took upon him the form of a servant, and ivas 
made in the likeness of men; and being found in 
fashion as a man, he humbled himself and be- 
came obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross (Phil. ii. 3, 5 — 8). 

Mutual Forbearance, and readiness to receive 
one another, notwithstanding our faults, is en- 
joined after the example of Christ. Receive ye 
one another as Christ also received us, to the glory 
of God (Rom. xv. 7). Forbearing one another. 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 159 

and forgiving one another, if any man have a 
quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, 
so also do ye (Col. iii. 13). 

The temper of Love, in general, is to be 
like him. Walk in love, as Christ also hath 
loved us, and hath given himself for us an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet- 
smelling savour (Eph. v. 2). Hereby perceive 
ive the love of God, because he laid down his 
life for us ; and we ought also to lay dotvn our 
lives for the brethren (1 John iii. 16). If we 
suffer unjustly from them who are without, we 
are taught to look to Christ, ivho did no sin, 
neither was guile found in his mouth ; ivho, when 
he ivas reviled, reviled not again ; when he suf- 
fered, he threatened not, but committed himself to 
him thatjudgeth righteously (1 Peter ii. 22, 23). 

IV. Lastly, to walk in Christ, is to walk IN 
FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. We have fellowship 
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ 
(1 John i. 3). 

The former particulars of our duty mentioned 
were, that we are to apply to him as Sinners ; 
depend upon him as Helpless ; imitate him as 
his Followers ; and, here we add, to hold com- 
munion with him as his Friends : for so he per- 
mits us to speak — Henceforth I call you not ser- 
vants, but friends (John xv. 15). It is an exclu- 



160 EIGHTH SERMOX. 

sive friendship, confined to his believing people : 
the world knows him not, nor he them : there- 
fore he said to his disciples, Yet a little ivhile 
and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me 
(John xiv. 19): he manifests himself to us as 
he does not unto the world. It is a familiar 
friendship : for, Behold I stand at the door and 
knock: if any man hear my voice and open the 
door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, 
and he with me (Rev. hi. 20). 

For the preservation of this holy intimacy in 
its strength and purity on our parts, we must 
beware of inward pollution ; for it is only the 
pure in heart that shall see God. It is not the sin- 
ful act only, but the sinful thought indulged, that 
will cause the Lord to withdraw his presence. 

And, in general, the rules for the mainte- 
nance of human friendship are applicable here ; 
such as avoiding of occasions of offence, and 
seeking to please. A friend will take it un 
kindly, if we do not speak in his defence when 
any thing is said to his disadvantage ; nay, even 
if we do not speak in his praise, when any 
benefit would result to his cause. An estrange- 
ment of affection will ensue, if we do not visit 
him; and take pains too, if necessary, to find 
him : so except we seek the Lord in prayer, 
and persevere till we reach his presence, we 
shall be seldom blest with the light of his 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 



181 



countenance. Nothing mars our peace and 
engenders slavish fear so much, as carelessness 
and infrequency in prayer. 

Having spoken thus much in explanation, let 
us now endeavour to APPLY the subject more 
particularly by addressing, 

1. Those who are walking, not in Christ, 
but sin; and have not, it is to be presumed, 
received Christ Jesus the Lord : for he, that 
truly nameth the name of Christ, departeth from 
iniquity. 

As ye have, therefore, not received Christ 
Jesus the Lord, our business with you is to be- 
seech you to receive him. He has offered him- 
self to you in times past, and you did not re- 
ceive him ; yet, though justly offended, he 
renews the offer. He offers to wash you from 
your sins in his blood— to clothe you with his 
righteousness — to deliver you from your sins — 
to purify your hearts — to give you peace with 
God and your own conscience; and ? hereafter, 
an immortal crown. He asks not that you buy 
these blessings at the price of your works, or 
with any price ; but to receive them as already 
purchased, and bestowed freely on the chief of 
sinners. Therefore to-day, while it is called to- 
day, harden not your hearts ; for your to-morrow 
may never come. Trifle not with Cod : make 
not light of bis invitation : but lest you never 

M 



162 



EIGHTH SERMON. 



hear it agian, receive it while you hear it — be- 
fore you die to hear it no more ! Receive Christ 
without delay ; and receive him as he offers 
himself — as a Saviour from sin, as well as a 
Saviour from punishment. Think not that 
you can receive his commands, and yet neglect 
his atonement ; nor, on the other hand, that you 
can be delivered from punishment, and yet dis- 
obey him: Therefore be contented to part with 
every thing, that you may find him the com- 
plete Saviour ; and be prepared to receive, along 
with him, contempt, persecution, and sorrow. 
Let the world go : give it up in every form that 
it assumes — whether the lust of the flesh, or the 
lust of the eyes, or the pride of life — forsake its 
vanities, its covetousness, its vain and ungodly 
company : do any thing, and lose every thing 
if necessary, if you may but receive the Lord 
Jesus Christ, 

2. Let us, who trust that we have received 
him and are walking in him, be reminded, 
by what we have heard, of the necessity of 
making this more a point of duty ; or rather to 
make all duties a part of this, and to take shame 
to ourselves that we have neglected it so much 
in time past ; and, in future, measure our 
growth in grace by our knowledge of the Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ. As a further en- 
couragement, let us assure ourselves, that, if we 



THE CHRISTIAN WALK. 



168 



thus keep him in view, his attention to us will 
be reciprocal. He that in his love and pity re- 
deemed us, will bear us and carry us all the 
way through the wilderness, as the kind shep- 
herd carries the lambs in his bosom, and gently 
leads those that are with young. He will bring 
us all on our way, in such a manner, that we 
shall finally reach the fold above. There, we 
shall have no more need to walk in Christ by faith 
and love, but by love only : for they that walk 
in him here, shall walk with him hereafter ; 
and He, that led them through the wilderness, 
will lead them to the joys in Heaven. The 
Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne shall 
feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains 
of waters. The tabernacle of God shall be with 
men, and he will dwell with them. God himself 
shall be in the midst of them, and be their God. 



m2 



SERMON IX. 



PAUL AND FELIX. 



ACTS XXIV. 25. 

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, 
and judgment to come, Felix trembled; and 
answered, Go thy way for this time : when I 
have a convenient season I will call for thee. 

The occasion of St. Paul's being brought be- 
fore Felix, was, the impossibility of obtaining 
justice for him from the Jews. It is remarkable, 
that, wherever he travelled, he always found 
his worst enemies among them ; and the kind 
treatment, which he had often experienced from 
Heathen strangers, he would in vain expect 
from his countrymen. Whence arises this pro- 
pensity in men, that, when there are many 
things in which they agree, they should hate 
for the things in which they differ, more than 
they do when they have nothing in common ? 
Perhaps it is because, in the latter case, there 
is no collision ; or, if there be, better temper 



166 



NINTH SERMON. 



and consciousness of superiority (for all secretly 
claim superiority to all till there be a trial of 
strength) make us placid. The Jews would 
have heard with unconcern of the conversion of 
the Heathen Nations to Christianity ; but when 
Paul, once a distinguished ornament of their 
religion, became opposed to them, they fore- 
saw all that was to be dreaded from his talents, 
and hated because they feared. 

On St. Paul's arrival at Jerusalem, where 
once he had been caressed, he soon found that 
which every man must expect to find from his 
former friends on" becoming a Christian. St. 
Paul had not been long there before he was dis- 
covered ; and immediately the whole city was 
in an uproar. They dragged him out of the 
temple, and intended to kill him, when Lysias, 
the Roman Officer commanding at Jerusalem, 
came with a large detachment and rescued him, 
bound him with two chains, and ordered him 
into the fort. When he arrived at the top of 
the steps leading to the Castle, St. Paul asked 
permission to address the people ; which was 
granted : he then gave them the narrative of 
his marvellous conversion, and told them how 
the Lord himself had commanded him to go 
and preach to the Gentiles. They heard him 
patiently to this word ; and then raised a cla- 
mour again, and threw dust in the air. Upon 



PAUL AND FELIX. 



10T 



this, the officer, who brought him in, unable 
to comprehend from St. Paul's speech what 
crime he was accused of, for there was no aim 
at exculpation, evidently suspected that the 
Apostle intended to divert the attention of the 
people to other subjects ; for he was proceed- 
ing to examine him himself by torture, till in- 
formed that he was a Roman Citizen. The next 
day he convened the Council of the Jews, and 
sent Paul down to them ; but, as soon as he 
began to speak, there was such an uproar, that 
Lysias was again obliged to send his troops to 
bring him away. The Jews, irritated probably 
that they had suffered him to escape twice, 
bound themselves, to the number of forty and 
more, under a great oath, that they would nei- 
ther eat nor drink till they had killed him : in- 
formed of their intention, Lysias sent him 
away that night with a strong military escort to 
Cesarea, a town on the sea coast, the usual resi- 
dence of the governor. Thus it came to pass, 
in the determination of God, that one Roman 
Chief after another heard the Gospel. The 
Governor at that time was Felix, who, having 
ordered the accusers to attend and heard what 
both sides had to say, declined deciding between 
them till he saw Lysias. Here the matter was 
dropped for some time. Paul continued a pri- 
soner at Cesarea, and the cause was not brought 



168 



NINTH SERMON. 



forward again for two years. It was while his 
affairs were in this state of uncertainty, that 
Paul and Felix had that meeting in private, the 
result of which, as described in the text, sug- 
gests so many solemn reflections. 

Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, 
and judgment to come ; and Felix trembled. 
Such is the superiority, which poverty, with 
integrity, possesses over guilty grandeur. The 
judge trembles before his own prisoner ! 

St. Paul, amidst all the vicissitudes of his 
earthly lot, never lost sight of his high calling ; 
nor was ever unprepared to speak on the sub- 
jects that lay next to his heart — the things of 
another world. Even at this period, when his 
fate seemed to hang in suspense, his mind was 
calm and his conduct unembarrassed. His spi- 
rit, absorbed in his work, and contemplating 
his high reward, rose superior to this world. 
Hence, instead of endeavouring to conciliate 
favour, he chose a theme, though he knew it 
would be far from pleasing. But the season 
was favourable, and might never return : he 
therefore gave him advice that might save his 
soul. 

I. Knowing that we have to do with a holy 
and righteous God, upon whom depends our 
everlasting destiny ; a Judge, who acknow- 



PAIL AXD FELIX. 



169 



ledges no distinction in men but that of right- 
eousness and unrighteousness, he began to 
speak, and calmly to reason of that RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS without which there is no salvation 
He would explain its nature — lay down a rule 
to measure it — argue for its necessity — and 
point out its end. 

Righteousness, he would tell him, is a con- 
formity to the will of God. How long has the 
light of Revelation shone upon the world ; and 
yet, in the place of this obvious definition, 
others, almost heathenish, are continually sub- 
stituted ! The discharge of duty hi the social 
and civil relations of life, is considered as the 
object of all religious systems ; and, provided 
the end be attained, it is thought needless to 
raise objections about the way. This may be 
morality, but it is not religion. It comports 
very well with a system of Atheism ; because if 
no future state is to be expected, we must be 
satisfied if we can but see happiness and good 
order in this : but it can never be held in con- 
sistency with the Revelation which we profess 
to admit : in that, to love God with all our heart, 
is declared to be the first and great com- 
mandment. 

Duties to God form a distinct and separate 
part of the code of laws, given to us for tho 
regulation of our conduct : so that we are no 



170 



NINTH SLRMOX. 



longer left at liberty to suppose, that when we 
have satisfied one another, God is satisfied too. 
And the reason is evident enough. We are pre- 
paring for another state of existence, where the 
relations of parents and children, husband and 
wife, will be known no more. We shall be 
brought into a nearer relation to God himself; 
and, for that, some appropriate discipline is 
necessary here. 

On these points Felix needed information. 

St. Paul would, therefore, tell the Roman, 
that valour was not necessarily virtue, nor humi- 
lity meanness ; that a romantic friendship was 
often passion, not duty ; and patriotism but a 
small part of Christian Love. He would warn 
him against measuring the virtue of an act by 
its apparent expediency : and, instead of ad- 
mitting that a practice held in general esteem 
was estimable, to be cautious of admiring what 
men admire, since many things are highly 
esteemed among men which are abomination in 
the sigh t of God ; but, in all things, to consider 
it his duty, henceforward, to ascertain the will 
of God and make that his rule. It is neglect 
of the Scriptures that makes men, calling them- 
selves Christians, not only live Heathen lives, 
but defend their unsound practices by princi- 
ples still more unsound ; and make such gross 
mistakes in what they profess to know, as on 



PAUL AND FELIX. 171 

any other subject they would blush to be de- 
tected in. 

Having told him what Morality was not, St. 
Paul might proceed to rectify his views of Re- 
ligion ; and would tell this benighted idolater, 
that religion was something more than spec- 
tacles and processions, sacrifices and festivities — 
truths, which, in another form, those need to 
be reminded of, who put the external Church 
for the real ; and think that nothing has been 
left undone, when the Church has been attended* 
and the Sacrament has been received. He 
would let him know that God was a Spirit, who 
must be worshipped in spirit and in truth— in 
secret, as with the multitude ; and that the pre- 
paration of the heart was noticed by him, rather 
than the construction of the prayer, or the repe- 
tition of it ; that as we are here in this world in 
a ^tate of preparation for another, where, if fit, 
we shall dwell with God, holy tempers and 
holy habits must be formed here by communion 
with God, in persevering prayer, and never- 
ceasing supplies of his Holy Spirit. 

We cannot conceive that St. Paul, while 
speaking of righteousness, would omit intimat- 
ing to Felix, as far as he was able to hear it, 
something of those deep truths respecting the 
righteousness of Christ, which it pleased God 
so fully to unfold to him, and on which he 



172 



NINTH SERMON. 



expatiates so largely in his writings, and which 
he seems to have conceived more fully and lived 
and acted upon and rejoiced in more habitually 
than any other human creature. It was impos- 
sible, therefore, that Paul would let him remain 
ignorant of Christ : indeed the context expressly 
proves that l?eli& heard him concerning the faith 
of Christ. He would by no means let him sup- 
pose, that the life of devotion which he preached 
to him was to be the purchase of heaven ; but 
would make him know that the Son of God. 
having in mercy come down to fulfil all right- 
eousness as the surety for sinners and suffered 
the penalty due to their sins, they who believe 
become entitled to the reward of eternal life. 
New and strange would appear to Felix a sys- 
tem from which human merit was excluded. 
Alas ! that it should remain incomprehensible 
to many among ourselves, who are zealous for 
morality against those doctrines, the ultimate 
effect of which is to promote morality ! 

II. If, however, any one be really so deluded 
as to think that the orthodoxv of his creed will 
atone for the irregularities of his life, let him 
observe, that the Apostle reasoned also of 
TEMPERANCE, or self-denial. 

The opposition of our nature to the will of 
God, is the foundation of the duty of self-denial, 



PAUL AND FELIX. 178 

We are born in sin — we delight in sin : we must 
be torn from sin, or we shall never leave it. 
The leading agent in the work of self-denial, 
is the Spirit of God ; and the man in whom he 
works will be temperate in all things — he will 
restrain his passion and his pride. 

To be meek and lowly as the Lord — to be 
poor and patient in spirit — to forgive injuries — • 
to abhor himself for his iniquities, is the duty 
of the highest as well as the lowest of men ; a 
duty incumbent upon the soldier as well as 
others : and public opinion or practice cannot 
alter God's Word. 

All love of human praise, or vain glorious 
self-complacency, on the possession of honours, 
or the distinctions of talents or opulence, birth 
or beauty, or any other quality natural or ac- 
quired, must be mortified and crushed, as ut- 
terly irreconcilable with that self-abhorrence 
which lies so deep in the nature of repentance 
and humility. 

To check all impurity of heart is also a ne- 
cessary part of temperance. Whatever there- 
fore has a tendency to inflame the passions, in 
look, reading, or imagination, Christian purity 
requires us to avoid ; much more, therefore, all 
that may pollute our bodies, which we are 
taught to consider as sacred, the temples of the 
Holy Ghost. 



174 NIXTH SERMON. 

Worldly-mindedness is another species of in- 
temperance ; less suspected than bodily excess, 
but more destructive. It is the sin of riper 
years ; a propensity, which time, instead of 
weakening as it does many other inclinations, 
has a tendency to strengthen. To them who 
are enslaved by this principle, death as it comes 
nearer appears more indistinct : more provision 
must be made for the way, as the way grows 
shorter : and, while they are anxious to hoard 
up for a future day, they cannot act upon the 
same principle and provide for a future state. 
As worldly-mindedness is the sin of the more 
advanced in life, to whom is committed the ma- 
nagement of this world's affairs, because they 
possess most of the little wisdom that is in the 
world, to declaim against their system will ap- 
pear to them puerile : yet as it is evident that sin 
is not necessary to conduct the affairs of sinful 
men (for how does God govern the world?) the 
fancied necessity of the system of the world 
exists only in their own excessive selfishness, 
or the obstinacy of their ignorance. But if it 
be so that falsehood, flattery, dissimulation, 
forming connections with the powerful to up- 
hold our state or aggrandize our families, are of 
such indispensable necessity in maintaining our 
station, a good man will abandon his : he will 
lay down the instruments of iniquity and retire, 



PAUL AND FELIX. 



175 



choosing rather to lose a good place than a good 
conscience. 

St. Paul, while reasoning of Righteousness 
and Temperance, would sometimes lower the 
lofty tone which became the herald of God, and 
try to win where he had failed to intimidate. 
He would display the excellency of the Chris- 
tian Character, whether considered in its con- 
nection with this world or its expectations in 
the next; and would bid him remark what 
various and valuable qualities are united in his 
person — what a constellation of glories com- 
pose his crown — how elevated his sentiments 
— how noble his conduct — how high his destiny 
— and how peaceful his end! He would con- 
trast the pleasures of the world with those of 
religion: the world flattering, but false, and its 
friendship ruinous — religion faithful in its pro- 
mises, though severe in its requisitions, awful in 
aspect, but in reality benign : the pleasure of sin 
unsatisfying, degrading, and at last disgusting; 
accompanied with guilt and followed by remorse 
—how different from the calm delights of a 
good conscience! how superior the satisfaction 
to be found in wisdom's ways ! Keep sound wis- 
dom: it shall be life unto thy soul, and grace to 
thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy ivay safety y 
and thy foot shall not stumble: when thou liest 
down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt 



176 



NINTH SERMON. 



lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet (Prov. iii. 
21—24). 

III. At last, the sacred teacher, drawing to a 
close, would begin to enforce his admonitions 
with the dread sanctions of ETERNITY. 

As it is appointed unto men once to die, but 
after this the judgment (Heb. ix. 27), the time 
is approaching to every man, when he must 
leave the world, and go to give up his account 
to God. 

It will then be inquired, not what was the 
state of things, their facilities or possibilities, 
or the standard of morality at the time he 
lived: for there is but one standard admitted, 
which is the Word of God — the word that I 
have spoken to you, the same shall judge you in 
the last day (John xii. 48); and according to 
that, the judgment will proceed. 

It will be inquired, whether he kept the com- 
mandments of God and the faith of Jesus— 
whether he considered himself as a servant, 
accountable to God for the use which he made 
of the things committed to him ; or as his own 
master, subject to no control but his own will. 
Every act of self-gratification, reference not 
being had to the will of God, all application of 
our means of doing good to selfish purposes, 
will be condemned as treachery and fraud. 



PAUL AND FELIX. 



177 



Then, too, those acts of criminality, which 
had escaped the notice of men, or were beyond 
their cognizance — secret iniquity, and habitual 
neglects, and wilful ignorance; disregard of 
God's public ordinances ; and omission of the 
secret duties of prayer, reading the Scripture, 
self-examination, and watchfulness, unconcern 
about the soul, and Him who alone can save 
it, the Lord Jesus Christ — will appear in their 
true colours. No degree of criminality was 
attached to these on earth: they were, in no 
respect, prejudicial to men's interest or honour : 
but, there, they will be considered as the pre- 
ludes to final reprobation. 

Then there is no reprieve, and no pardon : 
the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God! (Ps. ix. 17-) Though 
they had succeeded in rising above the fear of 
hell, they will not be above suffering it. God 
will then signally confound the wisdom of the 
wise ; and will shew man what he ought to have 
been aware of, that, in this first stage of his 
existence, he is a mere child in wisdom, and 
in power a worm — a worm which God will 
crush, if it is not submissive. 

But there, whatever lessons they learn, they 
learn too late; for their punishment is not 
chastisement, but an everlasting evidence of 
God's truth and holiness. There, as the Judge 

N 



IT8 



NINTH SERM02T, 



himself hath told us, their worm dieth ?iot, and 
the fire is not quenched (Mark ix. 44). They 
are bound in everlasting chains, and the smoke 
of tlieir torment ascendeth tip for ever and ever 
(Rev. xiv. 1 1). 

Felix trembled! He was convinced in his 
conscience, that, if he diecf as he lived, he 
should perish. But did his alarm lead him 
to repentance? No. 

Now what were the sins that maintained 
such a fatal ascendency over him, that though 
he knew that they would ruin him, he could 
not emancipate himself from their hold ? The 
context informs us. 

1 . He lived in illicit intercourse with a woman, 
a native of the country. Drusilla, a Jewess, 
though called his wife, could not, properly 
speaking, be so, because it appears that she 
was the wife of another man. This woman 
was one weight about his neck. He knew that 
to be saved he must part with her, but to this he 
could not consent : like Herod, who, after hear- 
ing John preach, would do many other things, 
but not give up Herodias. Felix too would 
be most averse to make that sacrifice, which of 
all others was most necessary. Now, though 
Felix might have reflected, that all politic as 
well as good men would have deemed him unfit 
for the situation which he held, or for any other 



PAUL AND FELIX. 



179 



place of trust, while he was in danger of being 
influenced by a native of the country, and 
though it was very easy for one of his rank to 
form a virtuous and honourable union with a 
Roman Lady, neither of these considerations 
had any weight with him. Sinners must make 
to themselves crooked ways, though it has been 
long known that they who walk in them shall 
not know peace: the very same happiness 
which they expect in sin, they might have as 
certainly, and often more readily, by adhering 
to duty. 

2. The other predominant sin of Felix, was 
the love of money ; a principle, of itself, suffi- 
ciently powerful to produce every species of 
evil. He hoped that money would have been 
given him of Paul, that he might loose him: 
wherefore he sent for him the qftener, and com- 
muned with him (Acts xxiv. 26). Thus it ap- 
pears that he was a corrupt judge. Placed by 
his country on the seat of judgment, that he 
might judge justly and truly, this man took 
advantage of his distance from the Senate and 
the Emperor, to betray his trust, and for a bribe 
to turn aside the poor from his right. One so 
lost to every sense of probity and honour, so 
deaf to all the remonstrances of reason and 
conscience, as to descend to practices as infa- 
mous as they are immoral, must have been little 



180 



ni>;th sermon. 



prepared for receiving the pure precepts of the 
Gospel. He retained, however, sufficient re- 
spect for the sacred character of his prisoner, to 
promise that he would hear him again the first 
opportunity. Possibly he might, at the time, 
have made resolutions to reform, when he 
should have lived a little longer in the enjoy- 
ment of his pleasures. But, however this be, it 
is evident that his religious impressions soon 
wore off : for, at the end of two years, we find 
him still engaged in his worldly schemes ; and, 
that no means might be left untried for pro- 
moting his interest, endeavouring to ingratiate 
himself with the Jews, though Paul was to 
suffer by his complaisance to them. Felix was 
willing to have served Paul, but Paul could not 
requite him : Paul had no money and no 
friends. Felix therefore, in the true spirit of a 
man of this world, looked favourably on that 
side, where there were connections, and some- 
thing to be gained. He made his court to the 
wicked Chief Priests, and left St. Paul in 
prison. 

Thus ends the Scripture History of Felix : 
and here we leave him. Alas ! the folly of 
sinners, with all their worldly wisdom ! Is it not 
folly, for the sake of a perishing world, to destroy 
an immortal soul ? for a momentary gratifica- 
tion of the senses to plunge into everlasting 



PAUL AND FELIX. 



181 



fire ? For let us be sure, that if there be indeed 
an eternal difference by the nature of things 
between righteousness and unrighteousness, 
God, in that judgment to come, of which we 
have been hearing, will also make a difference 
between the righteous and the wicked. If your 
worldliness will consist with this prospect, well : 
still let it be a sound, ever meeting you amidst 
the din of the world, that there is a judgment 
to come ! Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, 
and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy 
youth.... but know tJwu, that for all these things 
God will bring thee into judgment (Eccl. xi.9). 
Forsake the God who made you, and despise 
the rock of salvation — still, to Him belongeth 
vengeance, and recompense. If he whet his 
glittering sword and his hand take hold on 
judgment, he will render vengeance to his 
enemies, and reward them that hate him: he 
will heap mischiefs upon them, and his arrows 
will be drunk with their blood : a fire will be 
kindled in his anger, and shall burn to the lowest 
hell ; which shall consume the earth with her 
increase, and set on fire the foundations of 
the mountains. Oh, that men were wise, 
that they understood this, that they would 
consider their latter end ! — that they would 
consider that they have a latter end ! that 
how many soever the days they give to pleasure; 



182 



NINTH SERMON. 



how high soever they climb in power and 
grandeur, how happy soever they may be in 
their friends and possessions, there is an end 
to all, not far distant. When that is come, 
how comfortless must be the state of the soul 
that has nothing else to look to ! This is one 
reason why God in his mercy calls us away 
from earth, and would loosen our attachment 
to all things here, that we may set our affections 
on things above. 

As we may be permitted to hope that some 
among us tremble at the thought of a Future 
Judgment, we entreat them not to stifle their 
convictions, nor increase their danger by pro- 
crastination. Say not to your faithful monitor, 
your own conscience, Go thy way for this time: 
when I have a more convenient season I will call 
for thee. Hear conscience ! What; more con- 
venient season than the present — when you 
have been excited, summoned, reasoned with ! 
will you put it off to your death-bed ? Alas ! 
the soul has enough to do, then, to support the 
weight of a dying body ; which, after being so 
long the abode, the instrument, the companion 
of the soul, becomes a burden to it which it 
cannot sustain. Besides, will you give the 
best of your time to Satan, and leave only the 
remnant to God? — God hath not dealt thus 
with you, who gave his Beloved Son for you. 



PAUL AND fELIX. 



183 



Will you put off the necessary work till the 
next Lord's Day? — how do you know that 
this week's affairs will not dissipate your 
serious thoughts, and converse with the world 
weaken your resolutions? Trifle not with 
God : to-day if ye will hear his voice, while it 
is called to-day, harden not your hearts. He 
is free in the dispensations of his grace, and 
may withhold to-morrow what he grants 
to-day. Therefore, whatsoever thy hand findeth 
to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no 
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in 
the grave, whither thou goest (Eccl, ix. 10). 
Nay, even in this world procrastination may be 

an evil not to be remedied : for wisdom thus 

/ 

speaks — Because 1 have called, and ye refused; 
I have stretched out my hand, and no man re- 
garded ; hut ye have set at nought all my counsel, 
and would none of my reproof ; I also will laugh 
at your calamity, I will mock when your fear 
cometh ; when your fear comet h as desolation, 
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ; 
when distress and anguish come upon you : then 
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; 
they shall seek me early hut they shall not find 
me (Prov. i. 24 — 28). Though true penitents 
find mercy at the eleventh hour, many pray on 
their death- beds who are never heard : many 
cry for mercy, and never obtain it. 



184 



NINTH SERMON. 



Now therefore, Men and Brethren, while 
you have life, and health, and strength ; while 
your sun is not yet gone down, nor the grave 
yawning for you beneath ; before time begin his 
ravages, and disease sap your vitals — ascend 
your watch-tower — contemplate the prospect — 
stretch your thought inward— and determine 
what the end shall be. You are, in one sense, 
the arbiters of your own destiny ! God has 
opened the way to Himself, by the mediation of 
his Son, and by the offers of his Spirit. Through 
the Son, you may be forgiven — through the 
Spirit, sanctified. A feast is spread, to which 
you are invited ; a river of life, of which you may 
drink ; a crown of glory, which is your ap- 
pointed reward ! May God fix your hearts for 
glory, honour, and immortality, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord ! 



SERMON X. 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT AND THE 
BRIDE. 



REVELATION XXU. \ J. 

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come ; and let 
him that heareth say, Come ; and let him that 
is athirst, come ; and tvhosoever will, let him 
take the water of life freely. 

The words of a dying man have usually some- 
thing in them which powerfully awakens the 
attention and fixes itself deeply in the memory : 
it is not the intrinsic excellence of the words, 
which causes the peculiar impression ; but the 
circumstances of their being the last. We 
have also a sorrowful pleasure in remembering 
them : whether it is that they recal to the mind 
that solemnity of feeling with which we heard 
them, or whether it is that we are led by them 
into a train of meditations on the shortness of life 
and the things of this world all hastening to 
their end, it is certainly observable, that those 
words of a friend are remembered with most 
interest, which were spoken last. 



186 



TE NTH SfeRMON. 



Hence there appears a more than common 
tenderness, in the parting address of our Lord 
to his disciples, and his prayer in their pre- 
sence. It is this, also, that*adds a most affecting 
solemnity to all the Book of Revelation, and 
especially to the last Chapter of it: for the 
declaration of our Lord Jesus Christ which is 
contained in it is not only deeply important, as 
proceeding from the invisible world, and warn- 
ing us of our approaching entrance into it ; but 
still more so, from being the last which is left 
on record for the instruction of mankind. Be- 
hold, he says a few verses before the text, / 
come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give 
every man according as his work shall be. I am 
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 
the first and the last. Blessed are they that do 
his commandments, that they may have right to 
the tree of life, and may enter in through the 
gates into the city. I Jesus have sent mine angel 
to testify unto you these things in the churches. 
I am the root and the offspring of David, and 
the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and 
the hide say, Come; and let him that heareth 
say, Come ; and let him that is athirst, come ; 
and luhosoever will, let him take the water of 
life freely. 

These words contain three things— a decla- 
ration ; an injunction ; and an invitation. 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 187 

I. A DECLARATION. Christ declares that 
he hears the Spirit and the bride say, Come. 

For the explanation of these terms, Spirit and 
Bride, we may refer you to the ninth and tenth 
verses of the preceding Chapter ; where it is 
said, There came unto me one of the seven an- 
gels and talked ivith me, saying, Come hither: 

Iivillshew thee the bride, the Lamb's ivife : and 
he car ried me away in the spirit .... and shewed 
me that great city, the holy Jerusalem. Under 
the emblem, therefore, of a Bride, as we see in 
the text, are represented all who are citizens of 
the Heavenly Jerusalem, whether they have en- 
tered in through the gates into the city, or are 
travelling along the narrow way which will 
lead them to it. 

The near and intimate relation which subsists 
between a bride and her husband, is used by 
the Spirit of God to convey an idea of the union 
to and communion with Christ which believers 
enjoy— of the true love of Christ to his church, 
and of its dependence upon him. Once they 
were attached to the Law, expecting to be jus- 
tified by their works : in this state, they brought 
forth no fruit unto God ; but they are become 
dead to the Law by the body of Christ, that they 
should be married to another, even to him who is 
raised from the dead, that they should bring 
forth fruit unto God (Rom. vii. 4). 

We should observe in these words, which are 



188 



TENTH SERMON. 



taken from the Epistles, that the same allusion 
is made to a Bride in the Song of Solomon and 
in the Forty- fifth Psalm. 

The Spirit and the bride say, Come. 

By this we are to understand, either that the 
Holy Ghost calls on the Son of God to come to 
judgment; or else, that, by his influence in the 
hearts of his people, he awakens their inward 
powers to long for his Second Coming. 

The latter interpretation is confirmed by the 
Eighth Chapter to the Romans, ver. 26, where it 
is said, We knoiv not ivhat we should pray for 
as we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh inter- 
cession in us, or speaks for us ; and He, that 
searcheth the hearts, hnoweth ivhat is the mind 
of the Spirit : and here he declares what the 
Spirit is saying in the hearts of his people. An 
instance of this silent eloquence, unnoticed by 
men but acknowledged by God, may be ob- 
served in the Fourteenth Chapter of Exodus, 
verse 15: The Lord said unto Moses, Where- 
fore criest thou unto me? Moses had said 
nothing, but the voice of his heart was so loud 
and powerful, that it ascended to the distant 
heavens, and was heard at the throne of God. 
It is a language of the same sort that the Lord 
heareth from the bride ; and the import of it 5 
according to his declaration, is, that he would 
hasten his Second Coming. 

L Now as a bride desires the coming of the 



INVITATTON OF. THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 189 

bridegroom, because her former bonds of union 
to her natural relations are dissolved, or at least 
weakened, and her affections are now trans- 
ferred to her husband, from similar motives the 
people of God desire the coming of the Lord, 
Once they were dear to the world, and the 
world to them : born with a natural attachment 
to it, they were confirmed in their love of, by 
increasing intimacy with it : the company of 
worldly people seemed indispensably necessary 
to their happiness ; and the exclusion from 
their society as painful, as for one member of 
a family to be separated from its wonted inter- 
course with the rest. But, having now tasted 
that the Lord is gracious, their affections are 
transferred to Him : they have experienced 
the sweetness of diviner joys ; and there- 
fore the world can no more charm them as 
it once did : they survey its enjoyments with 
indifference ; because those enjoyments are 
chiefly animal, and not suitable to that new 
and superior nature which they have received ; 
and because they consider that if they were 
valuable in themselves, their duration is short : 
for the fashion of this world passeth away : it 
is passing away — it is receding from our eyes, 
while we look at it — it is disengaging itself from 
our hold, while we grasp it. They not only dis- 
relish and disregard the world, but they fear 



190 



TENTH SERMON. 



to enjoy it : they trust the Apostle for drawing 
up a faithful inventory of all that is in it — all 
that is in the tuorld is the lust of the fleshy the 
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; for none 
of which they would endanger their souls. She 
is the Mystic Babylon that makes the nations of 
the earth drunk with the wine of her fornica- 
tion, and therefore they tremble so much as to 
taste the intoxicating draught. 

From scenes so transient and enjoyments so 
dangerous, they have turned, by the power of 
God, to seek their happiness in the Saviour : 
they prefer to live and dwell with Christ ; be- 
cause he is a better friend than the world, or 
any friend in it. They now say with the Apo- 
stle, to me to live is Christ (Phil. i. 21) : all that 
which other men call life, their business and 
pleasures, their hopes and fears, joys and sor- 
rows, the motives which excite and the maxims 
which direct them, are ail centered in Christ: 
therefore, having nothing to engage them, to 
die is gain. 

Hence the Saints long for the appearing of 
the Lord, because they love him and not the 
things of the world ; as the bride desires the 
coming of the bridegroom, because her affec- 
tions are transferred from all others to him. 

2. The coming of the bridegroom is looked 
forward to as the beginning of that happiness 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 19] 

to the bride for which she has been preparing : 
so the appearing of the Lord Jesus is ardently 
expected by the saints, in proportion to their 
heavenly-mindedness, as the era of their deli- 
verance from misery and the commencement of 
their perfect enjoyment. 

In this life they are subject, not only to the 
common calamities incident to men, but to 
many, more grievous, which happen to them as 
Christians. They e?iter into the kingdom through 
much tribulation. They must bear with long- 
continued persecution, in patience possessing 
their souls. The fiery darts of Satan often 
pierce deeply into their spirits ; and the deceit- 
fulness of their hearts is often leading them to 
the verge of ruin. Moreover, the perverse op- 
position of the will to that which is good, or the 
deadness with which they prosecute that work 
to which they have no opposition, makes them 
often long for the termination of their warfare, 
of their danger, of their sin. 

Their happiness will then be complete ; they 
will have risen triumphant over the grave ; the 
body purified from disease, and the soul from 
sin—their own will, and that of all that are 
saved, swallowed up in the divine will — the 
mysteries of Providence cleared up — and the 
wonders of grace displayed in full— no occasion 
left for sighing at the wickedness of others — 



192 



TENTH SERMON", 



but men again endued with the temper of a 
creature, and God universally glorified : above 
all, they will be near Him whom their soul 
loveth, and sit down to be for ever with the 
Lord. 

Is it a wonder, then, that the saints should 
long for the restitution of all things ? — that they 
should be looking for and hasting unto the 
coming of the day of God? (2 Pet. hi. 12). Nay, 
that they should be sometimes even saying, 
Why is his chariot so long in coming ? why 
tarry the wheels of his chariot ? 

The Spirit and the bride say, Come. Such, 
you will see is the language of the Spirit 
and the bride, by collecting into one prayer 
a few of the scattered petitions of the Saints : — 
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out 
of Zion ! (Ps. xiv. 7). My soul panteth after 
thee, O God ! When shall I come and appear 
before God? (Ps. xlii. 1,2). And I said, 
Oh that I had wings like a dove ! for then 
tvould I fly away, and be at rest ; lo, then 
would I tvander far off, and remain in the 
wilderness. I would hasten my escape from 
the windy storm and tempest (Ps. lv. 6 — 8). Oh 
send out thy light and thy tr uth ! let them lead 
me : let them bring me unto thy holy hill and to 
thy tabernacles (Ps. xliii. 3). As forme, I will 
behold thy face in righteousness : I shall be satis- 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 198 



fied when I awake with thy likeness (Ps. xvii. 15). 
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fat- 
ness of thy house ; and thou shalt make them 
drink of the river of thy pleasures : for with thee 
is the fountain of life (Ps. xxxvi. 8, 9). Thou 
wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is 
fulness of joy (Ps. xvi. 1 1). 

Such is the language of the Saints, expressing 
an ardour, which to the world is unaccount- 
able ; and appears to most professing Christians 
so exalted, that they do not even attempt to 
attain to it, 

II. Let us attend, therefore, in the next place, 
to the authoritative INJUNCTION of our Lord. 
Let him that heareth say, Come. Let him, to 
whom the Gospel is preached, unite with the 
Spirit and the Bride in^their supplication, and 
say, Come. 

But can men, in general, pray for the disso- 
lution of the world when the fibres of their 
hearts are so closely wound round it? Can 
they desire a new heaven and a new earth , 
wherein dwelleth righteousness, when they love 
the old earth so well, though there dwelleth un- 
righteousness ? Can they serenely wait for the 
Judgment to be set, when their conscience even 
now anticipates their condemnation ; or for the 
Books to be opened, where there is no hope 

o 



194 



TENTH SERMON 



that their name is written in the Book of Life ? 
Can the voice of Christ be desirable to them? 
when they know too well that he will only open 
his mouth to say unto them, Depart from me ? 

No : we must confess it to be impossible for 
men to pray for his advent, who are unprepared 
to receive him, Nevertheless the command is 
irrevocable. It must, therefore, admit of this 
interpretation— 44 Let him that heareth learn to 
desire my coming ." 

But how shall a polluted sinner be fit to be a 
bride for the Lamb? He possesses indeed a 
certain sort of righteousness, but he finds it is 
said concerning it, that all our righteousnesses 
are as filthy rags — making him more loathsome 
than if he were naked ; or, to speak plainly, 
the sinner is guilty and corrupted. But, for the 
removal of his guilt and his restoration to the 
favour of God, there is a righteousness pro- 
vided for him — something for which God will 
accept him; pardoning his sins, and dealing 
with him as a righteous person, subject to no 
condemnation — and that is, the righteousness 
wrought out by Christ's perfect fulfilment of 
the Law in our stead. 

This righteousness is often compared to a 
garment— to signify that it is no more a part of 
any thing in ourselves than a garment is any 
part of the body ; but that, as a garment hides 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 195 



all the defects of the body which it covers, so 
the righteousness of Christ veils all our past 
sins from the eye of God, in such a sense that 
we need fear no condemnation on account of 
them. Thus St. John saw a company of the 
Blessed clothed in white linen; which was 
explained to mean the righteousness of the 
saints. Again, it is said, the righteousness of 
God without the law is manifested ....which is 
by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all 
them that believe (Rom. hi. 21, 22): unto all as 
a gift, and upon all as a garment. And the 
ancient Prophet had such a clear understanding 
of the nature of this righteousness as covering 
our unrighteousness, that he rejoices in the view 
of it — I will greatly rejoice in the Lord: my 
soul shall be joyful in my God :for he hath clothed 
me with the garments of salvation, he hath 
covered me with the robe of righteousness ; as a 
bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, 
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels 
(Is.lxi. 10). 

The first step, then, toward the requisite pre- 
paration is, for us sinners to be invested with 
the robe of righteousness by faith, that is, by 
simply accepting Christ as of God, made unto 
us wisdom and righteousness. This is the wed- 
ding garment, necessary for those who shall be 
admitted to the marriage supper of the Lamb, 
o 2 



TENTH SERMON, 



The consequence of being without the wed- 
ding garment is evident from the parable: 
When the King came in to see the guests, he 
saw there a man which had not on a wedding 
garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how 
earnest thou in hither, not having a wedding gar- 
ment ! And he was speechless. Then said the 
King to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, 
and take him away, and cast him into outer dark- 
ness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth (Mat. xxii. 1 1—13). The King did not 
require that they should come to his house fur- 
nished with a garment, for then he would not 
have sent out to gather them from the high- 
ways : but, surely, when the King had himself 
provided a wardrobe, what less could they do 
than make themselves fit for his presence ? So 
they, who would not be ashamed before the 
Lord at his coming, must apply for his Spirit 
to cleanse them from all their impurity : for we 
may be sure that we shall never carry into hea- 
ven any thing that defileth. 

These things are necessary to prepare us for 
the coming of the Lord : but that awful event 
cannot be the object of our desire, till we have 
received the full assurance of hope; the gift 
indeed of the Spirit, which is to be obtained by 
us in the way of diligence according to the ex- 
hortation of the Apostle — We desire that every 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 197 

one of you do shew the same diligence, to the full 
assurance of hope unto the end (Heb. vi. 1 J ). 
Let us also be permitted to remind our dear 
brethren in the Lord, that, without a spirit of 
watchfulness and prayer, by which we may 
grow in indifference to the world and in daily 
enjoyment of Christ's presence, we cannot with 
unreserved affection unite in the supplication of 
the bride. 

This, then, is the injunction of the Lord — 
*' Let him that heareth say, Come. Let him 
learn that he is wretched, and miserable, and 
poor, and blind, and naked, and let him come 
unto me as of God made unto him wisdom, and 
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. 
Let him buy of me white raiment, that he may be 
clothed, and that the shame of his nakedness may 
not appear. Let him ask of me the influences of 
my Spirit to renew him^ and be the subject of 
that Spirit's never-ceasing operations. Let him 
not be contented to go on in uncertainty, whe- 
ther heaven or hell await him; but let him 
plead with me for the witness of the Spirit, 
which is a privilege that I have promised, and 
which he therefore ought neither to neglect 
to ask for, nor hesitate to receive. And, 
finally, let him so live in the contemplation of 
my glory, and labour to maintain such inward 
enjoyment of my presence, as to be excited by 



108 



TENTH SERMON. 



the foretaste to long for the consummation 
of it." 

Such is the positive injunction of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, to every one that heareth— an in- 
junction, with which we are in general so far 
from being able to comply, that we need every 
encouragement to induce us to attempt it. 

III. He therefore adds, A gracious INVITA- 
TION : Let him that is athirst, come ; and who- 
soever will, let him take the water of life 
freely. 

By the water of life is signified a glorious 
immortality. As in the Garden of Eden, the 
Tree of Life was a sign or pledge of happiness 
to Adam, if he had continued in innocency ; so 
the water of life, flowing through the paradise 
in heaven, is an emblem of that eternal glory 
which Christ, the Second Adam, has secured 
for all who believe. This seems to be the mean- 
ing of the figure, as used in the Revelation. In 
other parts of Scripture it may represent more 
directly those gracious influences of the Spirit, 
which prepare us for glory, and are a foretaste 
of it ; as in the Seventh Chapter of St. John, 
ver. 39, the living water is thus interpreted — 
this spake he of the Spirit. In whichever sense 
it be taken, it is indifferent, for Grace and Glory 
mean the same in kind. 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 199 

It is manifest that whatever can be conceived 
necessary to carry on and consummate the hap- 
piness of man, beginning with pardon and end- 
ing with glory, must be looked for amidst the 
streams of the water of life. Is he a sinner 
who must for ever remain a stranger to peace 
except pardon be offered ?— then the Lord offers 
pardon, when he offers the water of life ; for, 
without pardon, no promise, no assurance, can 
give him life. Is his heart polluted, and are his 
efforts to obtain deliverance feeble and unsuc- 
cessful ? — then the waters of life shall flow, in 
purifying streams, through his heart ; imparting, 
as they go, a vigour which the world, and the 
flesh, and the devil can never withstand. Is 
he a spirit immaterial, incapable of real enjoy- 
ment from earthly substances ? — then the water 
of life, proceeding out of the throne of God 
and of the Lamb, is to be taken as the emblem 
of God the Spirit, who proceedeth from the 
Father and the Son, and carries life and enjoy- 
ment to our spirit, by giving us the knowledge 
of God and Christ : for this is life eternal, to 
knoiv thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
whom thou hast sent (John xvii. 3). Is man an 
immortal spirit ? — then once more we have re- 
course to the water, and remark that it is the 
water of life: the happiness of the soul which 
drinks it, shall know neither intermission nor 



goo 



TENTH SERMON. 



end ; for new waters are incessantly poured 
forth from the fountain, and in one unbroken 
stream roll on for ever and ever. 

But to whom is the Invitation made? To him 
that is at hirst — Let him that is athirst, come. 
So also he spake by his Prophet — Ho ! every one 
that thirsteth come ye to the waters (Is.lv. 1): a 
parched traveller, it might be supposed, would 
very well be satisfied at finding no condition 
required of him but that thirst, which the 
waters are calculated to quench; yet, because we 
have an evil heart of unbelief, which would per- 
suade us that we neither hunger nor thirst after 
righteousness, therefore it is added by our 
Lord, Whosoever will, let him take the water of 
life: surely there is no one, who is at all anxious 
for his salvation, who can assert that he is not 
willing to have the water of life; but if he be 
only wll li n g, he may come and receive it : yea, 
whosoever he be that willeth, though his repen- 
tance bear no more proportion to his sins than 
one tear to the ocean, and though his faith be 
only as a grain of mustard seed — though his 
conscience be blackened with aggravated guilt, 
and his heart be foul with inveterate pollution- 
he may come. Lastly, when the trembling pe- 
titioner is drawing near the fountain, and about 
to ask the price at which the water is dispensed, 
he is answered "Take the water of life freely. 



i 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 201 



—Behold, it lies open to all ! Do you take it 
freely; and whosoever ivill, let him take it freely : 
it was dearly purchased, but the price is paid : 
now, therefore, it cannot be bought by you; or 
if you will buy it, it must be ivithout money and 
without price — He that hath no money, come ye, 
buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk, with- 
out money and ivithout price" 

Let these things suffice for the eludication 
of the three several parts of the text. 

We must add, in CONCLUSION, an obser- 
vation or two on each of them. 

1. On the first, which is Christ's declara- 
tion of the desire of his bride for him to come 
to judgment, let us remember that he will hear 
her speedily. 

Let us recollect, as often as the years come 
to their close, that we are one year nearer to 
that day ; and that as surely as we have reached 
the end of one year, we shall also witness the 
end of time. Behold, he cometh with clouds, 
and every eye shall see him (Rev. i. 7). The Son 
of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
angels with him (Matt. xxv. 31). Then shall 
appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: 
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, 
and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the 
clouds of heaven, with power and great glory 
(Matt. xxiv. 30), Behold, I come quickly., .He ■, 



202 



TENTH SERMON. 



which testifieth these things, saith, Surely I 
come quickly (Rev. xxii. 7, 12, 20). Beloved, 
he not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is 
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thou- 
sand years as one day (2 Pet. iii. 8). But as 
the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming 
of the Son of Man be : for as in the days that 
were before the flood, they were eating and 
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, 
until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 
and knew not till the flood came and took them 
all away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of 
Man be (Matt. xxiv. 37—39). It will therefore 
be glorious — certain — sudden. Then the kings 
oftheearth, and the great men, and the rich men,and 
the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every 
bond-man i and every free-man, will hide themselves 
in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and 
say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and 
hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the 
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for 
the great day of his wrath is come (Rev. vi. 15 — 
17). Let all who are unprepared believe these 
things and awake. You] are swiftly, though 
silently, floating down the stream of time. The 
years are passing away, and you have as yet 
done nothing. If time waited for you, and 
death would delay his approach till you were 
prepared for him, you would have something 



INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 203 



to justify your negligence ; but neither time nor 
death will wait, till your half-formed purposes 
of amendment are completed. Think now, at 
the end of the year, to what little purpose you 
have lived hitherto, and bless God that he hath 
spared you so long. If it please him that you 
should enter upon another year, be prepared to 
begin it with new purposes and new views, 
that you may be able to say, at the beginning 
of such a year, / thought on my ways, and 
turned my feet unto thy testimonies: I made haste, 
and delayed not to keep thy commandments (Ps. 
cxix. 59, 60). 

2. From the consideration of the injunction 
of our Lord, that all, and especially his people, 
should not only be looking for, hut hasting to 
his coming, let us reason with our unbelieving 
hearts, and rouse them to ardoiir, that we may 
really long for his appearance. 

Simon, son of Jonas, loves t thou me? said 
Christ to Peter: so might he say, "Thou, that 
scarcely ever thinkest with delight on the great 
day when I shall call thee to my presence, art 
thou sure that thou lovest me?" Let us look into 
our hearts. Is it the fear of death, that throws 
a shade over our brightening prospects? Do 
the waters of Jordan, through which we must 
pass to the promised land, chill our ardour 1 
Thanks he to God, which giveth us the victory 



204 



TENTH SERMON. 



through our Lord Jesus Christ; who hath 
himself risen, the pledge and pattern of the 
resurrection of Christians. Is there a doubt 
about our acceptance ? then let us confirm our 
hopes by presenting to our minds the perfect 
freeness and the unbounded fulness of the pro- 
mises, God's faithfulness in his word, and Christ's 
unchangeableness. Is a want of preparation 
urged by you as a reason for being unable to 
long for his coming ? remember, that though 
indeed none are in themselves meet for the 
inheritance, yet in Christ your right to it is as 
certain now as it ever can be. Let us then 
be stirred up to be more alive to the certainty 
of these eternal realities — to leave the world 
behind us — to tread as on the verge of eternity ; 
waiting for the happy moment that shall bring 
us into the presence of our Saviour and Lord. 

3. Lastly, in reference to the invitation, 
let us once more turn to the careless, and ask, 
How long will ye harden your hearts ? Will ye 
still be deaf alike to hear, whether God calls to 
you out of the whirlwind, or speaks to you in 
the softer breath of mercy? Has God thundered, 
and will you not take warning? or shall the 
Saviour invite, and you will not hearken? 
The approach to the tree of life was guarded 
by the sword of the flaming Cherubim ; but 
to the water of life Christ himself stands ready 



INVITATION OF THE SPITIT & THE BRIDE. 205 

to conduct you — but, die without Him, and 
you are excluded for ever. What may be your 
determination, it is not for me to predict ; but 
whether ye will hear or whether ye will forbear, 
say not now, say not at the Last Day, that you 
might not have received the water of life freely. 
I pray God to prepare your hearts by his grace, 
that, with the residue of Christ's people, you 
may be able to say, when he proclaims his 
coming, Amen ! even so, come Lord Jesus I 



SERMON XL 



THE NEW CREATURE, 



2 CORINTH. V. ]7. 

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : 
old things are passed away ; behold, all thing s 
are become new. 

There are few subjects so imperfectly under- 
stood by Christians, as the doctrines of their 
own religion. Other branches of science are 
cultivated with care ; and the want of a certain 
degree of acquaintance with them is supposed 
to argue a defect, either of education or of 
intellect : but ignorance of the Bible is attended 
with no disgrace. 

Were we now in the predicament of our 
forefathers, who were debarred the free use of 
Scripture by the obstacles of a foreign lan- 
guage, such ignorance would excite less 
surprise ; but, happily, the period of Romish 
Bigotry is past — the Sacred Volume is now 
accessible — and the small degree of litera- 
ture necessary for understanding it has 



208 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



descended to the lowest classes of society. It 
might, therefore, be reasonably expected of us 
all, that we should be not merely acquainted 
with the facts recorded in Scripture, but be able 
to discern the distinguishing features of that 
Way of Salvation which is pointed out in it. 

The want of such discriminating knowledge 
of the peculiar nature of the Gospel, leaves us 
exposed — either to the attacks of unbelievers, 
who would challenge us to shew what greater 
evidence there is for believing this religion to 
be of God than another ; or to the still greater 
danger of self-deceit. Hence it is of impor- 
tance that we set before you, from the words 
of the text, first, the state of a real chris- 
tian ; secondly, the evidence of his being 

IN THAT STATE. 

I. The STATE OF A REAL CHRISTIAN, or his 
situation m reference to God, is thus expressed 
by the Apostle — he is in Christ. 

To be a Christian is not, to have been born 
in a Christian country and of Christian parents, 
to have received the sacramental ordinances of 
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and to live a 
moral and honest life, but it is to be in Christ ; 
the strength and peculiarity of which expres- 
sion suggests the idea of a state, very different 
in nature and importance from the mere 



THE NEW CREATURE. 



209 



external possession of Christian privileges, or 
the performance of relative duties. 

To illustrate the meaning of this expression, 
let us contrast it with our state as we are in 
Adam ; partaking of his guilt, and inheriting 
his corruption. God, in his covenant engage- 
ments with Adam, treated with him as with the 
head and representative of mankind. Adam 
fell, and with him fell the whole human race ; 
every individual, as he comes into the world, 
being now considered by God as involved in 
the first transgression. Hence the natural con- 
dition of men, whether their lives be more or 
less stained with actual wickedness, is a state 
of guilt, as well as depravity, at its very begin- 
ning. We are by nature the children of wrath 
(Eph. ii. 3). Such is our state in Adam. In 
this state all of us remain, who have not turned 
unto God from the world. 

To be in Christ is to be related to him in the 
same sense, as we were said to be related to 
Adam ; and the blessings flowing from the 
former relation correspond to the miseries of 
the latter: for, as those that are in Adam are 
considered by God as partakers of his guilt, 
independently of any disobedience of their own ; 
so those that are in Christ are regarded by God 
as partaking of Christ's merit and possessed of 
a justifying righteousness in him, independently 

p 



210 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



of any previous obedience of their own : and, 
again, as those that are in Adam receive from 
him at their natural birth an entire depravity of 
nature ; so those that are in Christ receive from 
him the renovation of their nature. Over those 
that are in Adam, the anger of an offended God 
is continually suspended ; and will fall on 
them with overwhelming weight, if they die 
unchanged. On those that are in Christ, the 
blessings of a gracious God rest perpetually : 
his protecting providence, his Spirit influencing, 
his tenderest compassion and love, are secured 
to them for time and for eternity : he looks 
upon them as free from guilt, innocent in 
Christ's innocence, and righteous in Christ's 
righteousness ; and will give them the reward 
of His merits when they die. 

Those who do not attend to the Scripture 
account of this subject, are more accustomed to 
consider God as dealing immediately with our- 
selves than as in Adam. It will be of use, 
therefore, to contrast our state in Christ with 
what may be called the being in ourselves. 

In whatever degree we depend on our own 
works for recommending us to the divine 
favour, or imagine the ability to be holy is 
originally in ourselves, in that degree a Mediator 
becomes unnecessary for us. We transact our 
own affairs with God : we stand on our own 



THE NEW CREATURE. 



m 



foundation ; and God deals with us accordingly. 
He beholds us under that law of works which 
requires perfect obedience ; and when once we 
fail of absolute perfection, passes sentence on 
us as condemned criminals. Alas! how sad 
and pitiable is the condition of natural men ! 
chiefly pitiable because they know not their 
case : For whosoever shall keep the whole laiv, 
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all 
(James ii. 10). One act of dishonesty brands a 
man a thief ; and one transgression of the divine 
law exposes to its condemning sentence, though 
men will not believe this. 

The state of those who have fled from this 
danger to be found in Christ, is to be con- 
trasted with the former, in this particular — that 
God no longer deals with them immediately in 
their own persons. The whole method of his 
proceedings toward them is changed: he re- 
gards them in a new light — adopts and adheres 
to a new system respecting them. He always 
thinks of them as in Christ — overlooks what 
they are in themselves : all that he gives to 
them, all that he receives from them, is through 
Christ ; who is now the sole channel of grace, 
and the repository of spiritual blessings. Once 
he looked to them for merit — now he looks for 
it in Christ : once he remembered their sins — ■ 
but he has now forgotten them : formerly every 

p 2 



212 



ELEVENTH SERMON". 



blessing was suspended upon the performance 
of conditions— but now all is freely given or 
freely promised, and every promise not left con- 
ditional but made and secured in Christ. 
There is no longer any uncertainty hanging 
over those that are in Christ, whether at the 
end of life they shall be accepted or rejected: 
for, already, are they pardoned and justified — 
already, are they made the children of God by 
adoption — already, they are at peace, and have 
everlasting life. If Christ is worthy, then are 
they worthy. Did the Son of God fulfil the 
Law in their stead, and thus obtain righteous- 
ness? — then they also are perfectly righteous in 
the righteousness of Christ. Was he filled 
with the Spirit?— then shall they also receive 
the anointings of the Holy One. Did he rise 
from the grave, and ascend to his glory? — then 
they shall rise and dwell with him in heavenly 
places, and walk with him in white, and sit with 
him on his throne, and reign with him for ever 
and ever. 

The peculiar term in Christ is borrowed 
from one or other of the following circum- 
stances. Cities of refuge were appointed 
among the Jews with this design, that he who 
had been guilty of manslaughter might escape 
to one of them and be safe. These cities are 
emblems of the Saviour. Whoever, conscious 



THE NEW CREATURE. 



213 



of his desert of eternal death, flees with broken- 
ness of heart to him, is in Christ safe from the 
punishment of all his past iniquities. Again, 
as a sheep in a fold, so is a sinner in Christ 
(John x): it is not the manner of a good shep- 
herd to cast off every untractable sheep, and 
send it astray in the wilderness; but to bear 
with it, and correct it, and feed it with the rest: 
so those that are in Christ are not cast off from 
God for their sins of infirmity, but made to 
cease from them — not given up to the power 
of Satan, but strengthened to conflict with 
him, and brought safely from this and every 
other danger to their everlasting inheritance 
in the skies. This, the attentive hearer will 
observe, is the Christian Doctrine of Justifica- 
tion by Faith in Christ. 

Our text points out the consequences 
flowing from this doctrine, and completely 
obviates all the objections that are raised 
against it as unfriendly to morality. The 
Scriptures provide sufficient for sinners in 
Christ, through faith. Faith brings them into 
a state of friendship and favour with God, but 
does not then leave them to themselves: the 
Holy-Spirit is then vouchsafed to be a Sanctifier 
and Comforter, and to prepare the justified soul 
for communion with the Holy God. 

As it may possibly be an inquiry in your 



214 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



minds whether you be in Christ, many of you 
having scarcely a reason for believing that you 
are, and yet unwilling to believe that you are 
not, we must attempt the determining of this 
critical question by considering, 

II. What are the proper EVIDENCES of our 
having made the transition from ourselves to 
Christ. If any man be in Clirist, then he is a new 
creature: old things are passed away ; behold , all 
things are become new. 

Here is a twofold evidence: there has been 
a Divine Operation upon him, and an Univer- 
sal Change in him. 

1. There is a divine operation upon him: 
for he is a new creature; or, as it is in the Origi- 
nal, a new creation. 

Creation is the work of God : He only can call 
into being that which had no previous existence, 
and bid that be which before was not. Reli- 
gion in the heart is not? the effect of our own 
reason acting by itself, or the consequence of 
moral persuasion ; but it is a work wrought by 
the immediate supernatural power of God the 
Holy Ghost. We call it supernatural, be- 
cause it is not one of those effects which God 
works upon all in the natural course of things, 
nor does it resemble God's natural gifts be- 
stowed equally upon all; but it is peculiar to 



THE NEW CREATURE. 215 

those that are in Christ, and takes pla ce on their 
union to him. A new heart will I give you, and 
a new spirit tvill I put within you, is the promise 
of God by Ezekiel : and I will take away the 
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you 
a heart of flesh: and I will put my Spirit within 
you, and cause you to ivalk in my statutes; and ye 
shall keep my judgments and do them (Ezek. 
xxxvi. 26, 27) : here the necessity of a new heart, 
and of the exertion of Divine power to produce 
it, are expressed in the plainest terms. In other 
passages, the same truth is conveyed with equal 
plainness: St. Paul, addressing the Ephe- 
sians, compares the power of God, in making us 
new creatures, to that whereby he raises the 
dead : You hath he quickened, tvho were dead 
in trespasses and sins; and, in the Second Epi- 
stle to the Corinthians, it is likened to that act of 
creation which brought light out of the original 
darkness : God, who commanded the light to 
shine out of darkness, hath shined into our 
hearts. 

These passages furnish us with an incontro- 
vertible truth — that there is a certain period in 
the life of every sincere Christian, at which he 
becomes the subject of an inward change, the 
effect of the power of God : not that it can be 
known by any momentary feeling, when the 
hand of God is upon us, as the inspired Prophets 



216 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



could know ; but the reality of such a change 
is certainly capable of being ascertained. It 
began perhaps in fear : it was attended with 
faint resolutions to amend ; and then, by various 
steps, it ended in a cordial application to Christ, 
and an unreserved self-dedication to God. 
Yet all this, perhaps, took place by impercepti- 
ble degrees. When the morning succeeds the 
night, light and darkness are blended in con- 
tinually different proportions, so that we cannot 
say when night is ended and the day begins. 

It is scarcely necessary to be observed, that 
no change takes place in the original consti- 
tution of our minds, by our becoming new 
creatures : no new faculty is introduced into 
the soul, nor mental power superadded ; but a 
new turn and direction is given to the passions 
which we already possess. 

2. This will be more apparent, if we consider 
that universal change, which ensues in the 
heart and life. If any man be in Christ, old 
things are passed away ; behold, all things are 
become new. 

The change in the conduct is, in most cases, 
remarkable. Observe how all the grosser 
habits of evil are cast off, and are succeeded 
by opposite virtues: if the man has been dis- 
honest, he becomes upright ; if a drunkard, 
he becomes temperate — the sensualist grows 



THE NEW CREATURE. 217 

chaste— the churl liberal— the proud man hum- 
ble — the vain man modest — the backbiter cha- 
ritable — and the malicious, envious and deceit- 
ful, kind, generous, and sincere. 

There is a change of conduct toward God. 
Once the man presumed to pass the Sabbath as 
he pleased — to sanctify or profane it, to be 
absent from the house of prayer or to visit it, 
as most suited his convenience or inclination ; 
but now he cautiously excludes both business 
and amusement from it, and dedicates the 
whole to holy exercises: he will not occasion 
others, even Heathens, to violate the Sabbath 
by giving them secular employments which 
are unnecessary, because God's commands 
are equally binding on them as on us ; and, 
therefore, we are enjoined to give rest on that 
day to the stranger that is within our gates 
(Exod. xx. 10). Once he could live without 
secret prayer, or satisfy his conscience with the 
dull repetition of a form ; but he now regards 
prayer as one of the most important employ- 
ments of life. The Word of God heretofore 
lay neglected ; but, henceforth, it is daily pe- 
rused for the purposes of spiritual instruction. 

His views of himself are become new. He 
will not now be heard speaking of the goodness 
of his heart, or justifying his defects, or pre- 
suming upon his comparative innocence for 



218 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



recommending him to God ; but, with deep 
self-abasement, acknowledging his desert of 
God's wrath, yet resting his steady hopes on 
the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

With respect to the World and its pleasures, 
he has done with them : without retiring from 
his station in society or the duties attending 
it, he withdraws from that pursuit of riches 
and distinction in which others place their 
happiness ; and he will never willingly counte- 
nance the dissipation of the world, by his own 
presence and example. On the earth it is his 
profession to be a stranger and pilgrim: his 
heart is in a better country : his affections are 
set on things above, and his treasure deposited 
there; and, when obliged to mix with the 
world, it is his purpose and prayer to be kept 
unspotted from it ; to grow in holiness, looking 
for and hastening to the coming of the great 
day of God. 

Let us observe his Relative Conduct. To the 
man who i£ in Christ a new creature, the govern- 
ment of his temper becomes an object of 
serious attention; for, according to his new 
views, all disorders of the temper must be con- 
sidered as arising from pride, prejudice, or 
discontent, and therefore unbecoming a Chris- 
tian : he therefore labours to be poor in spirit, 
meek, forgiving; patiently bearing with the 



THE NEW CREATURE. 



219 



perverseness and obstinacy of those with whom 
he has to deal, and he will really love and pray 
for those who injure or speak evil of him. In 
conversation with others, the man who is in 
Christ a new creature will never think of 
defiling his lips with an indecent allusion, 
though veiled in ambiguity ; because he knows 
it is equally detestable to God, and more dan- 
gerous to men than the open language of 
impurity — on the contrary, he hath so learned 
Christ, as to be pure in heart ; and will, therefore, 
seldom fail to testify his abhorrence of any 
thing of this nature : he defends the ways of 
the righteous, and shews a decided preference 
for their company ; yet, even with the world, 
he is not morose, or forbidding — he is serious, 
but not severe — pitying sinners, but not de- 
spising them — an opposer of all sin, but espe- 
cially of his own. With respect to what he has 
in his own power, he does not conceive himself 
at liberty to use his time, fortune, or influence, 
as may suit his humour ; but, bearing in mind 
that he is not a master but a steward of these 
things, he prepares for the strict account of his 
stewardship, which he must give at the end of 
life before the tribunal of God: his fortune, 
therefore, will not be spent in vanity, while 
there are any poor in the world who have a claim 
upon him by their misery, or any ignorant 



220 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



whose spiritual benefit may be any way pro- 
moted by a proper application of pecuniary 
aid : nor will his time be devoted to excess of 
business, nor trifled away in unnecessary amuse- 
ments ; but he will employ all in the way that 
shall appear most to conduce to the glory of 
God and the benefit of mankind. 

Such a conduct will undoubtedly subject 
him to the charge of singularity and precise- 
ness ; but, unconcerned at the opinions of men, 
he determines neither to be guided by the cus- 
toms nor maxims of the world, but simply to 
follow the Word of God as an all-sufficient rule 
of life. In short, if any man be in Christ, he is 
altogether another man — old tilings are passed 
aivay ; behold, all things are become new. 

Still there may appear to some to be nothing 
extraordinary in all this — nothing but what any 
man may accomplish by his own efforts. 

We should consider, therefore, the Change 
of Heart or Inward Disposition, which pre- 
serves the alteration visible in the life. A new 
heart will I give you, said God, in a passage 
before referred to. To the same effect are St. 
Paul's words — Put off the old man, which is 
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts ; and be 
renewed hi the spirit of your mind (Eph. iv. 22, 
23); and, again, Be not conformed to this 
world ; but be ye transformed, by the renewing of 



THE NEW CREATURE. 221 

your mind (Rom. xii. 2). Here is a certain 
change spoken of, perfectly distinct from a 
reformation of life, however extensive that 
reformation may be — such a change of the 
heart, as presupposes its evil condition ; and 
that, though we retain our natural faculties, the 
heart is in the most abject, corrupted, and 
forlorn condition, with all the passions affecting 
objects which are either false or dangerous. 
This is it, which renders a new creation neces- 
sary : there must be a new disposition of the 
heart : the bent of the will, the direction of the 
passions, the habitual principles, motives, and 
ends, must be different from what they were 
before : the taste and inclination must be 
different— the whole state and nature, in short, 
different. 

Here is the work of God ! man cannot reach 
the soul : but it is upon the soul that God's new 
creating influence is principally exerted ; and 
the result forms a wide line of discrimination, 
between a divine work upon the soul and mere 
human efforts. The moving principle of the 
new-created soul, in all that it does in a moral 
point of view, has no longer a regard to cha- 
racter, or the advancement of temporal in- 
terests ; nor even the fear of hell merely, and 
hope cf heaven, though it is very powerfully 
influenced by these ; for all these are no more 



222 



ELEVENTH SERMON, 



than the motives which naturally impel every 
man to action, and may exist where the heart 
is in its native unregenerate state: but its 
moving principle is Love— the love of God, 
which an unregenerated man never felt. 

The love of Christ constraineth us, says St. 
Paul (2 Cor. v. 14). We serve God, not as 
slaves, but as children : our motive is the love 
which we bear to him, and our end his glory. 
We would not be as persons who are, so to 
speak, making a hard bargain, and who would 
know the precise quantity of virtue necessary 
for salvation ; but we wish to serve him with 
the full flow of affection — to offer up to him 
hearts glowing with gratitude and love— and 
to have body, soul, and spirit unreservedly 
dedicated to his service. 

There is also in the renewed heart a love to 
holiness, which was once the object of its dis- 
like. This attachment to holiness is not, there- 
fore, merely as it is necessary to salvation ; but 
because it suits our renewed taste. It is, there- 
fore, superior to all legal considerations. If, 
on a sudden, we should discover that there is 
no place of punishment or reward, our pursuit 
of holiness would not be given up ; because, 
through the renovation of our minds, it is from 
choice and deliberate preference that we would 
be holy. We act, not from a calculation of loss 



THE NEW CREATURE. 



228 



and gain resulting from the practice of holiness, 
but from a real liking to the thing itself. 

In conformity to the same principle, we 
inquire not, how far we may indulge ourselves, 
nor determine to have every thing respecting 
right and wrong proved to a demonstration, 
that we may advance to the very limits of 
what is lawful ; but we stand at a distance, and 
abstain as carefully from temptation as from 
sin itself : thus the hatred of sin implanted in 
our new nature discovers itself by leading us to 
avoid all that may lead to it. 

All this forms a manifest distinction between 
regeneration and outward reformation, because 
it proves the disposition to be altered. Natural 
men may be conceived to do outwardly all that 
the purest saints can perform ; but what man 
loves God and holiness from seeing them to be 
intrinsically amiable, or hates sin from feeling 
it to be essentially detestable, except the man 
in whose heart the Spirit has begun to draw the 
lineaments of the divine image ? 

One or two instances may be added, to 
illustrate the change that has taken place in the 
new-created heart. 

Persons of strict and serious piety are often 
asked, why they abstain from most of the 
amusements to which the world are so attached ; 
and they are called upon to shew the harm of 



224 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



them. Without undertaking to prove the un- 
lawfulness of these amusements, the Christian 
can always reply, When I was a child, I spake 
as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as 
a child ; but, when I became a man, I put away 
childish things (1 Cor. xiii. 11): he once found 
his pleasure in such things, and was very un- 
willing to be deprived of them ; but. since he 
has become a new creature, he has lost all 
taste and relish for them, and can now be 
satisfied only with divine and spiritual enjoy- 
ments. 

Another circumstance worthy of observation, 
is the manner in which we treat the sins of 
others. There are sins, which, in the opinion 
of some, are less injurious to society than others ; 
such as intoxication and impurity. A natural 
man, hearing of instances of these in others, not 
thinking or caring what view God has of these 
things, will either make a matter of mirth of them, 
or at least smile at what he hears of this nature, 
as if it rather amused than grieved him : thus, 
with an outward conduct, correct possibly and 
unblamable, he betrays the wickedness and 
unregeneration of his heart, by smiling at that 
at which God frowns. The really good man, 
besides possessing a quick sensibility for God's 
honour, is endued with a similarity of sentiment 
with the Deity ; and can, therefore, take no 



THE NEW CREATURE. 225 

pleasure in that which offends God, and subjects 
his fellow- creatures to everlasting misery. 

Examine, then, your ownselves, Brethren — 
prove your ownselves* Review the text, and 
ask, Are we new creatures ? If the question 
appear strange to you — if the whole idea of the 
thing seem novel; or, as it is to some, ludi- 
crous- — you need not reply : you have mani- 
festly not experienced the new creation. On 
what then do you ground your hopes of salva- 
tion ? You say that you discharge your relative 
duties — doing as you would be done by — giving 
to all their due — that you are no extortioner, no 
adulterer, no slanderer — having failings, but 
not worse in general than others : but all this 
is of no consequence in the present inquiry : 
therefore the question recurs, Are we new crea- 
tures ? What though you are kind parents, 
dutiful children, faithful friends, charitable 
neighbours, honourable in mercantile concerns, 
in short entirely correct in all social and rela- 
tive duties ; nay, that you wait upon God in 
public and private, and are regular at his house 
and table— of what use will it all be in the mat- 
ter of your salvation, if there be not something 
more, if there be not a new creation of your 
hearts ? In Christ Jesus, says St. Paid, neither 

Q 



226 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumci- 
sion, but a new creature (Gal. vi. 15). 

Neither is the necessity of this change to be 
found in the Epistles alone, of the obscurity of 
which some are pleased to complain who have 
no inclination to study them: our Saviour Christ 
himself set forth the same things with equal 
strictness, when he said to Nicodemus, Except 
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
of God: and, Marvel not that I said unto thee 9 
Ye must be born again (John hi. 3, 7). 

And where is this change to be wrought on 
us except on this side the grave ? Death cannot 
itself alter the habitual temper, nor will God 
exert his power on the soul which has lost the 
opportunities which were offered in this world I 
Where the tree falleth, there it shall be (EccL 
xi. 3). He, that is unjust, let him be unjust still: 
he, which is filthy, let him be filthy still (Rev. 
xxii. 11). If a man die, not born again, let 
him not expect to rise a new creature from the 
grave. 

Then be persuaded of your danger, my Dear 
Brethren. Awake from delusion, and turn 
your thoughts inward. Deceive not yourselves, 
with supposing that morality is holiness, or that 
a reformation in the life is equivalent to a divine 
transformation of the heart. If you would fol- 



THE NEW CREATURE. 



22T 



low the saints of God, you must with them enter 
in at the strait gate and walk the narrow road, 
and experience with them the heart-renewing 
energies of the Holy Ghost. Let not the plea- 
sures of the world tempt you to defer the con- 
sideration of this to another season : for it may 
be, that, on your death-bed, this passage shall re- 
cur ; and you will then regret that you had not 
earlier yielded to the convictions which it must 
have produced. 

If any, with reasonable alarm, are inquiring 
what is to be done, the answer is — Believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ ; for, since the new creation 
of the soul is the effect of our being in Christ, 
the first step in the way of salvation is to apply 
to him : and happy is it for us, that to warrant 
us to expect his grace no previous merit is ne- 
cessary. The way is open — the gift is free— 
the invitation is couched in terms of unbounded 
fulness. Wait not till your hearts are better ; 
but apply at once to the Saviour, and you shall 
be created in Christ Jesus unto good works* 
which God hath before ordained that you should 
walk in them. As the scion, engrafted on the 
stock, receives sap from it, and then brings 
forth fruit ; so you, by your union with Christ, 
shall be holy in heart and life. 

There are not wanting, in this assembly, some 
who have pondered this portion of the Word of 
q2 



228 



ELEVENTH SERMON. 



God — have been actually giving themselves to 
seek of God the new creation of their hearts — a 
and have, in consequence, become partakers of 
a divine nature. Let them not be discouraged, 
if they find not such evident appearances of a 
change as they desire : for though the renovat- 
ing energy extends universally through all the 
faculties, and the change is proportionate 
through this life ; yet there will remain, to the 
end of life, much of the original corruption, 
which will indeed be a source of disquiet in 
proportion to its activity, but need not, while 
opposed, be an occasion of serious alarm, be- 
cause the image of God thus drawn anew on 
the soul shall never again be defaced — this se- 
cond image restored in Christ, being superior 
to that lost in Adam, in this respect ; that, 
whereas the former exhibited the colours more 
bright and orient, this shall prove them more 
lasting and durable. In future days, a new 
scene will be unfolded, which will be more 
congenial to our renewed nature ; for lie, that 
sitteth upon the throne, saith, Behold, I make all 
things new : new employments — new thoughts 
— a new society — joys ever varying and ever 
new — shall engage the new created soul, and 
give new scope to its renovated powers, when 
this world and all that belongs to it shall have 
passed away. 



SERMON XII. 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 



ACTS, III. '20. 

God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to 
bless you, in turning away every one of you 
from his iniquities. 

The demands of God upon a sinner for a holy 
life and a change of heart, can never be agree- 
able subjects of reflection to the majority of 
hearers. Preferring, as they do, those views of 
religion which are compatible with self-indul- 
gence, the requisition of a stricter godliness, 
though enforced by the power of eternal sanc- 
tions, will be heard continually with increasing 
pain. Yet the case is too urgent to admit of 
our qualifying any of the commandments of God, 
or of withdrawing divine truth because it is of- 
fensive ; for, whether we will hear or whether we 
will forbear, the Word of God remains un- 
changeably the same. Except ye repent ye shall 



230 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



all perish (Luke xiii. 3). However, the Scrip- 
tures having described the happiness of conver- 
sion as well as the difficulty of it, we gladly follow 
where they lead ; and will, therefore, do our 
endeavour to prove, that, according to the state- 
ment of the text, it is a blessing to be turned 
away every one of us from our iniquities. 

But let us, first, offer some preparatory 
remarks on this passage. 

And, first, there can be no reasonable objec- 
tion to the use of the word conversion, and to 
speaking of converted and unconverted persons, 
in reference to Baptized Christians : for we find 
that the word (that is, one literally synonymous 
to it, as any will know who are acquainted with 
the language from which the word Conversion 
is borrowed) is used in the text by St. Peter, 
while he is addressing, not the professors of a 
false religion, to whom the word is by some 
confined, but those whom in the previous verse 
he stiles, children of the covenant which God 
made with their fathers. The same privileged 
persons, in a former part of this Sermon also, 
he thus calls upon, Repent ye and be converted 
(v. 19). If Jews, in possession of the seal of 
the first Covenant of God, had need to be con- 
verted from their iniquities, no reason can be 
assigned why persons who have the seal of the 
Second Covenant may not have need to be con- 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 231 



verted from theirs. We are not restricted to the 
use of a particular word, when the thing in- 
tended may be so variously expressed : but it is 
right that none should deceive themselves, 
by fancying the word unconverted does not 
belong to them, because they are Christians 
nominally. 

For, secondly, this conversion from iniquities 
is not that reformation of life which human 
efforts can produce, the necessity of which is 
not disputed ; but it is really a divine myste- 
rious renovation of our inward nature : for the 
word expressing it is active in its signification— 
he will turn away every one of you from his ini- 
quities. The agent is also brought into view, 
Christ, or God operating by a risen Saviour— 
God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to 
bless you, in turning away every one of you from 
his iniquities. 

Let it be next observed from the text, that 
conversion has to do with more persons than 
the immoral ; unless St. Peter was so uncha- 
ritable as to brand with the stigma of immo- 
rality the whole of his audience, many of whom 
were undoubtedly like St. Paul, who was, 
touching the righteousness which is in the law, 
blameless (perhaps St. Paul was among them) ; 
or were like the Pharisee in the parable, who 



232 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



was no adulterer, unjust, extortioner, but fasted 
twice in the week, and gave alms of all that he 
possessed : yet St. Peter calls on all to be con- 
verted. 

Under the shelter of the Apostle's authority, 
then, we may be permitted to address the great 
mass of Christian Hearers, as persons who 
have need to be turned away every one from his 
iniquities — to suppose that every man, till 
changed by grace, has his iniquity, his favourite 
system of pleasure, between which and his 
heart a separation must be made before he can 
see life. It shall not be a course of dissipation 
or of gross sensuality, but a life the most com- 
mon, consisting of business and amusement 
combined ; adopted by him because it suits his 
interest or inclinations, and persisted in whether 
it accords with the will of God or not. 

To shew that a conversion from such courses, 
apparently so harmless, to a life of strict 

HOLINESS AND SIMPLE OBEDIENCE IS A REAL 

blessing, is one part of our present object: 
afterward it will be made to appear, how this 
blessing is communicated by Christ's resur- 
rection. 

I. A CONVERSION FROM SIN TO HOLINESS IS 
THE HAPPINESS OF MAN. He will bless you, 



i 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 233 

■ in turning away every one of you from his ini- 
quities. While then we continue in iniquity, 
there is no happiness. 

This is true, there are many sins in which 
there is no pleasure at all. It cannot be 
alleged, without great absurdity, that there is 
any pleasure annexed to the sin of profaneness, 
ridiculing religion, censuring God's laws, words, 
or works — no one having ever pretended, that 
these things had any tendency to promote his 
health or increase his estate : to wrong others 
in their reputation by slander, or to disturb their 
peace by contention, has no proper tendency 
to promote our own honour or peace, but the 
contrary. 

Yet, if there be some sins in which there is 
pleasure, it must be said that there is no plea- 
sure in nature peculiar to sin ; that is, which 
may not be had in the way of duty : for what 
are commonly called unlawful pleasures are 
nothing else but pleasures, in themselves lawful 
and useful, but procured by means which God 
forbids, or carried beyond the limits which God 
assigns. It is this unlawfulness in obtaining, 
or excess in using, that constitutes sin ; but 
this unlawfulness or excess has no pleasure 
peculiarly annexed to it. 

We are not presently surprised by some new 
enjoyment, when we go beyond God's laws : on 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



the contrary, that very excess which constitutes 
sinfulness is the source of unhappiness: sinful- 
ness and unhappiness begin together: for it is 
the immoderate love of temporal enjoyments, 
that gives birth, first, to impatience in desiring 
them, which impatience is pain; and, then, to 
that labour and toil in pursuing them which is 
so painful : it is the immoderate love of them, 
which makes the possession to be attended with 
such painful anxiety : immoderate love over- 
rates expected pleasure ; whence, the expec- 
tation being made greater than the enjoyment, 
disappointment ensues. Again, whatever plea- 
sures decay, and at last disappear, will be a 
source of vexation in proportion to the love 
which we bear them : but losses and decay 
being unavoidable in the present state of things, 
excessive attachment to them must infallibly 
terminate in vexation. 

Thus, by outstepping the strict commands of 
God, we turn natural and lawful enjoyments 
into an occasion of pain, by entangling ourselves 
in a train of perplexities, impatience, super- 
fluous toil, anxiety, loathing, and grief. 

It may be added, that a departure from God's 
restraints is not only in general thus fruitful in 
misery, but that each sinful temper has a way of 
punishing itself. Pride makes ever} affront a 
torment ; envy hinders a man from relishing 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 235 

his own enjoyments, till he sees his neighbour's 
misery: sensuality brings down the tone of 
general sentiment to a level with brutality, and 
degrades us to the misery of self- contempt : 
self-indulgence, in the way of indolence, stu- 
pifies the powers of body and mind, and super- 
induces insufferable fatigue. While men enter- 
tain such plagues and evils, how can they be 
happy ? It is of little importance to your peace 
that all is right without, when all is so wrong 
within. In the midst of magnificent buildings, 
sumptuous feasts, gay clothing, and all the other 
fantastic pageantry that he can desire, the slave 
of sin is still a miserable creature. 

Were there no pain attending these sinful 
pleasures, yet their insignificance is obviously 
unsuitable to the soul, which in nature is spi- 
ritual and immortal; for they are short and 
coarse. They are short, because life is short 
and uncertain ; and the pleasures of life are still 
more uncertain than life itself : though we were 
ever so sure of life, that cannot secure us the 
pleasurable enjoyments of it ; for they are liable 
to a thousand dangers, which all the precau- 
tions that human prudence can suggest, are not 
always capable of preventing : so that the 
pleasures of sin are what we are sure to part 
with at death, and not sure to retain till then. 
The sinful pleasures of life are coarse also. 



236 



TWELFTH SERMON". 



being chiefly those of the bodily senses, which 
any creatures can enjoy who are endued with 
senses : now to limit the soul to the enjoyments 
of brutes cannot, it should be thought, be 
advancing it far toward its blissful elevation in 
the scale of being : if, on the other hand, our 
pleasures arise from the gratification of pride, 
vanity, love of grandeur, and such things, this 
only assimilates us to the fallen spirits, who to 
the love of pre-eminence owed their ruin. 

Excessive attachment to the creature is folly ; 
and therefore cannot, in the nature of things, 
be the way of happiness. There is no folly in 
valuing creatures, but in overvaluing them ; 
but we, not satisfied with giving them their 
true worth, feign an imaginary one. If all our 
desires bore a true proportion to their objects, 
there would be no inequality ; and, conse- 
quently, no sin : but we break that proportion, 
by supposing a kind of all-sufficiency in crea- 
tures, which is a most chimerical imagination 
and the great cause of all our mistakes ; for, on 
this question, there is no occasion of demur, 
the thing being plain, that He only can give us 
happiness who gave us being. 

We have not enlarged on the more obvious 
miseries of a sinful life : we have not looked at 
the worldly man in his sick chamber, nor ob- 
served his dejection and discontent, his unwil- 



NATURE AND MEANS Of CONVERSION. 2§T 

lingness to hear or read the Word of God, or 
to be told of death : nor have we noticed the 
shame, remorse, and sense of guilt that are the 
concomitants of iniquity ; or the dissatisfaction 
constantly in the minds of those who will not 
live after the commandments of God; or the 
dreadful fears and confounding forethought of 
judgment and eternity, which will some times 
be so importunate, as to force their way through 
all the amusements and diversions that are made 
use of to keep them out. 

The dying thoughts of the man of the world 
will be here recollected with advantage : for, 
after all that is said about unnecessary strict- 
ness, where was the man yet found when he 
came to die, who did not wish that he had been 
more strict, and that he had rather erred on the 
side of self-denial than of sin ? 

Let us next see that there is not only no trou- 
ble peculiar to the duties of a holy w alk ; but 
that really these duties, in their own nature, 
have no tendencv to trouble at all. Faith and 
reliance on Christ, do not cause such shameful 
disappointments, as commonly come of reliance 
on the world and the flesh. To be heavenly- 
minded does not injure our health or peace, as 
worldly-mindedness does. Temperance does 
not lead to diseases, nor industry to poverty, 
nor humility to contention, nor honesty to 



238 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



shame. Meekness and poverty of spirit do not 
make us pine as envy does. 

If we consider the nature and design of holi- 
ness, it appears to be not merely a preparation 
for happiness, but an ingredient in it : for it is 
a progressive return to that state of delight en- 
joyed by Adam before his fall; and it is an 
imitation of the disposition and employments 
of angels, and of others who are already 
supremely happy in heaven. 

Faith in Christ, the fundamental exercise of 
a Christian Mind, has for its object the gladdest 
tidings that can be conceived. Love of God 
contemplates infinite excellency, and lays hold 
on all-sufficiency. The gracious Love of our 
Neighbour is so delightful, that those pleasures 
of society which wicked men enjoy are founded 
on the resemblance of it. Humility, and dis- 
engagement of mind from the world, give such 
serenity and tranquillity to the spirit as are 
inestimable. To which may be added, that 
the well-grounded hope of eternal life, if duly 
impressed, is a greater present pleasure than 
any worldly enjoyment whatsoever. 

It is to be considered, also, that, by the pro- 
mises of the Covenant of Grace, God has 
engaged to give, not only future happiness, but 
present peace— pardon of sin — -strength to perr 
form duty — acceptance of it - communion with 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 239 

himself — comfort under affliction — returns of 
prayer — and, finally, what comprises all other 
blessings, that he will make all things work 
together for our good, and let nothing separate 
us from his love. 

Against our general assertion, Repentance 
may be objected, as being a very unhappy 
thing. It cannot be denied, that both sorrow 
for sin and mortifying of corruption have some 
trouble and uneasiness in them : but that pain 
is neither the native fruit of duty or obedience, 
because had mankind continued in their duty 
there would have been no occasion for repent- 
ance ; nor is the trouble attending it peculiar 
to it, for impenitent sinners have inward agony 
arising from impenitence, and conscience 
causes them more uneasiness than the deepest 
humility can give a believer's penitence. Faith- 
less remorse was far more painful to Judas, than 
godly sorrow was to Peter ; as the event testi- 
fied. There are some kinds of sorrow, which 
human nature takes pleasure in : and, surely, 
the noblest and most rational melancholy in the 
world, is melancholy for those unworthy actions 
by which we have lost the chief perfection of 
our nature, the image of God — by which we 
have made such unbecoming returns to his 
kindness, and forfeited his inestimable favour 
and friendship : such sorrow as this has a sub- 



MO 



TWELFTH SERMOX. 



lime pleasure in it, since it is an exercise of 
love to God ; and is also, if evangelical, joined 
with a hope in God's mercy through the merits 
of his Son. Again, self-denial or mortification 
of corruption is not peculiar to duty : a wicked 
man oftentimes cannot gratify one corruption 
without mortifying another ; for sinful desires 
are full of contradictions and inconsistencies, 
and can seldom or never be all gratified 
together. 

But the Word of God must give the authorita- 
tive declaration of the happiness of true god- 
liness. That tells us that the ways of wisdom 
are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace (Prov. hi. 17)-— that Christ's yoke is easy r 
and his burden light (Matt. xi. 29)— that glad- 
ness is sown for the righteous (Ps. xcvii. 11) — 
that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace 
(Gal. v. 22). The very command of God is, 
Rejoice evermore (1 Thess. v. 16) — the joy of 
faith is a joy unspeakable and full of glory 
(1 Pet. i. 8). The peace which God gives is per- 
fect peace — peace thatpasseth all understanding ! 
(Phil. iv. 7). Both the Prophets and Apostles 
employed the most beautiful images of nature to 
paint the greatness of these joys : as when they 
speak of the oil of joy — the garments of praise — 
the budding and blossoming of the rose— the 
time of the singing of birds — the joy of ban- 



/ 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 241 

quets and marriage-feasts — the light of the 
morning when the sun riseth, even a morning 
without clouds — the springing of the grass after 
rain : the lifeless part join in the triumphs of 
God's people — the mountains and hills break 
forth before them into singing, and all the trees of 
the field clap their hands — the skies drop down 
from above, and the earth brings forth right- 
eousness ; and many other bright images are 
there, whose scope is to shew that godliness 
hath \he promise of the life that now is, as well as 
of that which is to come (1 Tim. iv. 8). 

Then let not a false impression remain upon 
our minds. Let not Satan's devices be believed ; 
who, to serve his own purposes, would veil the 
fair form of religion in a mantle so dark. Let 
us see that true holiness is nothing worse than 
sound sense — reason unobscured — true philo- 
sophy — and nature acting according to its ge- 
nuine original constitution, and approaching 
to primeval purity ; a state of order to which the 
universe shall be reduced at the restoration of 
all things. 

II. If you will believe that Holiness and 
Happiness are one, but know not the way to 
attain either, we have now to say that no doubt 
or error need remain, because God has himself 
appointed the way. GOD HAVING RAISED UP 

R 



242 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



HIS SON JESUS, sent him to bless you, in turning 
away every one of you from Ms iniquities. 

He has instituted a way, who is a God of 
grace, wisdom, and power. Why then should 
we seek happiness in another way? Surely, if 
there be any method of happiness appointed by 
God, that must lead to the attainment of the 
proposed end — not only effectually, but most 
delightfully : for the plan of God having origi- 
nated from the free suggestions of his own love, 
the same love would induce him to make the 
means as agreeable to us as the nature of the 
case would admit.. His method, too, must 
have all its parts disposed in the best order for 
leading us to happiness : so that, though some 
of his arrangements may be to us apparently 
confused, and others unnecessary ; yet reason 
must convince us, that seeming defects are to 
be ascribed to our own ignorance, while abso- 
lute perfection is to be predicted of the works 
of God. We may doubt, for instance, whether 
an instrument, apparently so inefficient as Faith 
in Christ, will lead us to holiness : but it is the 
means appointed by God, and he engages to 
make it effectual to lead us to purity and joy. 

Why then, my Brethren, seek your happiness 
from the gratification of your carnal wishes- 
why from the world, or from Satan— God having 
raised up his Son, for the purpose of blessing 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 248 

you ? Jesus is sent to bless you— why strive to 
gather comfort from self-complacent contem- 
plation of your own goodness ? It is not the 
method of God, and will therefore be unavail- 
ing. He has sent his Son to bless you, by turn- 
ing away your hearts from iniquity. 

What this means, it surely behoves us to in- 
quire. It will surely be our wisdom, as it is 
our duty, to set ourselves to study this method 
of grace, and endeavour to understand it. 

The Resurrection of Christ was the consum- 
mation of that work of his which he undertook 
for sinners : for them, as their Surety, he 
obeyed the Law perfectly, which they could not 
do ; and, for them, he suffered the punishment 
which was due to their sins. Now, as the libe- 
ration of one who is surety for another proves 
the debt to be paid and the creditor satisfied, so 
the deliverance of Jesus Christ from the prison 
of the grave is the evidence of God's having no 
further demands on a believing sinner for his past 
debts : henceforth, a blessing is communicated 
— a person is sent charged with blessings : 
henceforth, Christ, not by his power only, as a 
Divine Person, is sent to bless us, but as a Risen 
Saviour. It is in consequence of the comple- 
tion of that work, by which he obtained merit 
for us, that he is qualified to bless us. 

Sent, therefore, by the Father, behold, Christ 

R 2 



244 , TWELFTH SERMON. 

comes ! The Prince of Peace !— the great Be- 
nefactor of Mankind !— the promised Deliverer 
comes to us at the present hour ! He comes to 
bless us, not to lay upon us an iron yoke. His 
Gospel is not a system of restrictions to make 
us unhappy : he has nothing to gain by depriv- 
ing us of earthly comforts : it will add nothing 
to his happiness to see us miserable. His 
design is to call us, not to misanthropic gloom, 
but godly sorrow — to deaden none of the 
energies of the mind, but to recover them from 
confusion — not to check the flow of joy, but to 
confine it to its proper channel — to restrain 
none of its legitimate operations, but to reduce 
them to order — not to debase the mind by 
superstitious fears or slavish anxieties, but to 
ennoble, elevate, and refine it. 

But observe, he can do all these things only 
by turning us aivay from our iniquities. If we 
would be partakers of Christ's joys, and receive 
the peace which flows from the religion of 
Christ, we must submit to his discipline : a 
patient, who w ill obey in part only the prescrip- 
tion, and that part which happens to be most 
agreeable, will not reasonably expect to derive 
much benefit from it. It is necessary, then, that 
you should unreservedly resign yourselves into 
bis hands, and consent to forego the dearest 
gratifications at his command. 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 245 

This premised, let us say that He comes with 
ability to save all, of every name and every 
character. 

He comes to the gay and dissipated ; and 
sees, with pity, how from youth to age they 
pursue the wild career of vanity and folly — 
how, in the crowd of the world, they try to 
lose themselves, and to shun reflection on their 
latter end — how, in a round of visits, engaged 
in from mere idleness, or from a desire of pre- 
serving connections with the great, or from fear 
of singularity, they waste their time, that pre- 
cious moment, which, when longest, is short 
enough to prepare for the eternal home. He 
inspects them more narrowly ; and sees the 
envy, hatred, pride, and lust, which lurk beneath 
the polished exterior : he sees them, however, 
panting after happiness ; and that, he offers 
them, in words like these — How long, ye simple 
ones, ivill ye love simplicity ? and the scorners 
delight in their scorning ? and fools hate knoiv- 
ledge ? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will 
pour out my Spirit unto you ; I will make Jcnotvn 
my words unto you (Prov. i. 22, 23). 

Accept the proposal, Brethren— even all 
among us who are living in conformity to the 
world, forgetful of God. Be persuaded, at 
• least, to try whether, by the powerful conver- 
sion which the Son of God can work in you, 



T W E L F 'i' H 5 E K M O N . 



and the subsequent life of serious piety to which 
he can lead you, there is not real pleasure to be 
found — not such pleasure as that of religion is 
generally conceived to be— not a dim gleam of 
comfort resembling the melancholy satisfaction 
of an invalid raised from sickness ; but a lively 
joy, the vivid animation of rich delight, some- 
times rising into transport. There is no faculty 
or passion of the mind, which may not be as 
ardently excited and called out to as high 
endeavour and generous exertion, by what it 
sees and enjoys of divine things, as by the im- 
pressions which it receives from what St, Paul 
calls, with a high contempt, the beggarly ele- 
ments of this world (Gal. iv. 9) : it should be 
supposed, indeed, far more so ; as the flame 
is brighter, the more pure the air is in which it 
burns. 

Religion, therefore, cramps none of the 
mental energies : on the contrary, the ease and 
celerity with which the renewed soul acts in 
the ways of God, evidences the machine to be 
returning to order, Indeed, what reason can 
possibly be assigned, why even the lively cheer 
of youth should not find exercise in activity for 
a Creator, and love toward a dying Saviour?— 
why a pure and peaceful mind should not be as 
pleasurable as a vain denied heart ?— a growing 
meetness for heaven, as productive of gatisfac- 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 247 

tion as rising into consequence and wealth ? — 
and the favour of God, as gratifying as the 
smiles of a deceitful world ? 

With respect to the pleasures of the world, 
some are to be given up, and others may be re- 
tained ; but let us remember, that we are not to 
choose for ourselves which we will resign, but to 
leave it entirely to him . We must withhold no- 
thing from him. Our first business is, to dismiss 
every notion of our having aright to any pleasure. 
It is ours to stand in an expecting posture, ready 
to renounce the world instantly at his command. 
This belongs to us as creatures and sinners : 
as creatures, we are to have no will but God's 
— as sinners, we are to feel ourselves unworthy 
of any pleasure, in this life or the next. If it 
be his word to you to withdraw from the com- 
pany of those who prove too plainly that they 
are of the world, you must leave them at once : 
Come out from among them, and be separate 
(2 Cor. vi. 17). If he require us to devote more 
time to prayer and the study of the Scriptures 
than is consistent with the success of our busi- 
ness or with our inclinations in other respects, 
yet let us make the decision on the side of self- 
denial : without frequently cutting off the right 
hand and plucking out the right eye, no 
advances are made toward the kingdom of 
heaven. After all the sacrifice? which we may 



248 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



be required to make — and many painful ones 
there will be — yet after all, what is it which he 
requires us to part with, but that which is the 
source of our misery ? He wishes only to 
mortify and eradicate the poisoned part, before 
the w r hole frame sinks under the power of the 
venom — to awaken us from a lethargy, which 
would end in death — to pluck the viper from 
our bosom, which we are cherishing to our 
ruin. 

Next he is sent to bless the self-righteous 
part of mankind. It is true that he came, not to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 
But, possibly, we may not be as righteous in his 
sight as we are in our own : nay, he scarcely 
sees a case more dangerous, than that of a man 
wise in his own eyes ; who fancies, that, after 
all that is said about faith and regeneration and 
other unintelligible mysteries, he has no reason 
to be afraid. Jesus Christ pities such self- 
deceiving persons, though they have no pity on 
themselves. If they cannot answer this ques- 
tion to their consciences, whether Christ has 
turned away their hearts from their iniquities — 
and ignorance of the meaning of this question 
is itself an alarming answer to it — they have yet 
to be converted : they must be turned from the 
iniquities of their pride, the iniquities of their 
obstinacy, the iniquities of their impenitence, 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 249 



the iniquity of their impiety in choosing their 
own way to life instead of the humiliating path 
of the Gospel. Be turned from these, and you 
will be blessed indeed ! — your cold duties will 
begin to glow with life — your obedience will be 
animated by a new principle — your hopes, rest- 
ing on a more steady foundation than your own 
works, will be firm and strong. What though 
it be late in life with some of you, it is never too 
late to transfer one's dependence from sand to 
rock ; and if, through indolence or fear of ridi- 
cule, it be not done, and you yet suppose that 
God will save you in your own way because 
you have long supposed it to be the right one, 
it is a mistake. 

To the IMMORAL, PROFLIGATE, and ABAN- 
DONED, Christ is sent to bless them, in turning 
them away from iniquity. The subjects whom 
he takes in hand can be such as iniquity cleaves 
to : for all are supposed, in the text, to be turned 
away from it by him ; and could not, therefore, 
be previously converted. Let this be an encou- 
ragement to you, Brethren, to approach the 
Saviour. Approach him in all the ways of his 
appointment — in secret prayer — in the ministry 
of his Word — in the sacrament of his body and 
blood. Whatever you may have been in past 
times, yet if you would at this moment resolve 
to yield yourselves to him and determine " to 



250 



TWELFTH SERMON. 



lead a new life, following the commandments 
of God, and walking from henceforth in his 
holy ways," you may " draw near ;" and re- 
ceive, not only a confirmation of your resolu- 
tions, but a pledge of your pardon. Let not 
conscience make you linger, nor fondly dream 
of fitness ; for all the fitness which he requires 
is, that you feel your need of him. There is 
no case of guilt, or obduracy, or depravity, be- 
yond the reach of his all-sufficiency : he both 
can turn the heart from the love of sin, and 
will do it. He is exalted as a Prince and a 
Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel. Think 
how happy the change to you, to be delivered 
from the dominion of the fear of death and 
apprehensions of God's wrath ! — to pass from 
all these to progressive holiness and peace ! 
Lastly, he is sent to bless with continued 

BLESSINGS, THOSE WHO HAVE BEGUN TO TURN 

from iniquity* Though we continue not in 
any deliberate habit of sin, yet, alas ! there is 
much unrighteousness in our hearts ; and guilt, 
with its concomitant sorrow, attends us still. 
For our deliverance from both, the Lord has 
commanded us to meet, from time to time, for 
the purpose of remembering, in a more lively 
manner, by the help of outward symbols* his 
dying love. Let us then, at this time, renew 
our application to him for pardon, and that he 



NATURE AND MEANS OF CONVERSION. 251 



may be pleased to bestow on tis the spiritual 
comfort that comes from the right receiving of 
this Holy Sacrament : above all, praying that 
he would turn us away from unrighteousness, 
let us submit to every dispensation, however 
painful, which he sees necessary for this end. 
Let us not be surprised at affliction, the fruit of 
which is to take away sin : for if the issue of our 
trials be conversion from iniquities, troubles are 
only promoting his gracious purposes. Let us 
learn, then, to accept kindly the dispensations 
of our Saviour and Lord, whereby he expels 
sin and folly from our hearts. Let us under- 
stand and believe, that there is most happiness 
in that heart in which there is least sin ; and that 
he is then blessing us most, when he is taking 
measures for delivering us from it : therefore let 
us be submissive and thankful. The work of 
righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of 
righteousness quietness and assurance for ever ! 



SERMON XIIL 



ST. PAUL S DESCRIPTION AND SALUTA- 
TION OF TRUE CHRISTIANS. 



1 CORINTHIANS, I. 1 — 3. 

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ 
through the will of God, and Sostlienes our 
brother, unto the Church of God which is at 
Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ 
Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in 
every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ 
our Lord, both their s and ours: Grace be 
unto you and peace, from God our Father, and 
from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

H ad man retained the innocence in which 
God created him, the inhabitants of the world 
would have been all united in the bonds of 
charity : each would have found in his fellow- 
creature an affectionate friend. Men of dif- 
ferent countries would have scarcely needed 
an introduction to one another's acquaintance ; 
and the meeting of strangers with one another 
would have been an occasion of mutual delight, 



254 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



But, alas! sin has changed the face of things! 
Such is the condition of mankind, that an un- 
reserved communication with them is become 
impossible. Whatever romantic notions we 
may have entertained at the out-set of life, a 
very short acquaintance with the world is 
sufficient to convince us of the necessity of 
reserve : for, amidst the general duplicity and 
inordinate selfishness of men, we are liable, 
without being in some degree upon our guard, 
to become the dupes of treachery. So long, 
therefore, as men continue to act upon a 
principle of selfishness, mutual suspicion must 
ever check the flow of reciprocal affection. 

But, if there be a people united by ties which 
are independent of worldly considerations, 
their communication with one another will be 
cordial. Such are the people who compose 
the Church of God. By having one faith, one 
hope, one baptism, one God and Father of 
all, but especially by having one Lord Jesus 
Christ (Eph. iv. 4—6), by whom and in whom 
they are all united, they can address one another 
as friends wherever they meet ; and can, more- 
over, enjoy the communion of distant spirits, 
though thev meet not at all. 

Thus St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Colos- 
sians, speaks of the great conflict in prayer 
which he had for them, and for as many as have 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



255 



not seen my face in the ftesli (Col. ii. 1). With 
the same enlarged affection, he sends that 
salutation which the text contains— not to 
the Corinthians only, who were a church 
planted by his own hand ; but to all those, who 
in any place called upon the Name of the 
Lord Jesus. 

In discoursing from these words, we propose 
to consider, 

I. The Apostle's DESCRIPTION OF TRUE 
CHRISTIANS ; and, then, his Salutation of them* 

The followers of Christ have the most honour- 
able appellations assigned them in the Word of 
God. They are called the excellent of the 
earth — lights in the world — a chosen gene- 
ration — a royal priesthood — a holy nation — a 
peculiar people. They are likened to a well- 
watered garden — to a fountain of waters — to a 
lily among thorns — to the palm-tree — and to 
the cedar in Lebanon. They are related to 
God as his habitation and temple — his flock — 
his jewels and treasure — his beloved — his 
friends and children — his heritage and portion, 

But the light in which they are represented in 
this place exhibits them in their highest dig- 
nity, viz. as subjects of the appropriate opera- 
tions of all the Persons of the Sacred Trinity 
They are called, saved, sanctified— called 



256 



THIRTEENTH SERMON* 



by the Father, saved in the Son, and sanctified 
by the Spirit. 

1 . They are called of god the father : for 
the name given to them in the text, the Church 
of God, signifies, according to the Original, a 
body of persons called out from the rest of man- 
kind: and such are Christians, if they deserve 
the name. They are called to separate from an 
ungodly world, not only by the voice of God 
speaking in general terms by the Scriptures ; 
but they are called by the voice of the Spirit in 
their hearts. 

That some are thus wrought upon rather than 
others, and obey the call to come out from the 
world, is not to be ascribed to their superior 
merit, and their better inclination recommend- 
ing them to God : the Scriptures declare that it 
is not of him that ivilleth, nor of him that run- 
neth, but of God that sheweth mercy (Rom. 
ix. 16) ; that ice are created in Christ Jesus 
unto good works, which God hath before or- 
dained that we should walk in them (Eph. ii. 10); 
and that it is God which worketh in us, both to 
ivill and to do, of his good pleasure (Phil. ii. 13). 
Whatever there is good, therefore, in his people, 
is God's own gift and work. 

Moreover, God hath from thebeginning chosen 
us to salvation (2 Thess. ii. 13) ; and that this was 
not because the merit of the objects was fore- 



THB TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



257 



seen, is clear from Eph. chap. i. ver. 4, He hath 
chosen us in him before the foundation of the 
world, that we should be holy and without blame 
before him in love; and from Rom. chap. viii. 
ver. 29, Whom he did foreknow, lie also did 
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his 
Son. Holiness is an effect, not a cause. 

Almighty God acts according to the purpose 
of his own will, without thinking fit to render an 
account of it to his creatures : and though this 
act of his sovereignty is unquestionably consis- 
tent with his other attributes ; yet, as that con- 
sistency is not revealed to us, we must rest 
satisfied with the general reflection, that the 
Judge of all the earth will do right (Gen. 
xviii. 25). 

All that can be stated positively on this sub- 
ject is, that, in the Covenant of Redemption, 
it is the prerogative of the Father to give 
whom he will to Christ : for thus said our 
Lord, JS T o man can come unto me except the Fa- 
ther, which hath sent me, draw Mm (John vi. 44) ; 
and, in his last prayer, recorded by St. John, he 
speaks of his people as given to him by the Fa- 
ther — I pray for them : I pray not for the world, 
hut for them which thou hast given me ; for they 
are thine (John xvii. 9). 

How high and awfully grand are the desti- 
nies of a holy soul ! Known to the Ancient of 

s 



258 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



Days before all time and loved with an ever- 
lasting love, he is brought through every dan- 
ger in this world to the enjoyment of eternal 
glory 1 How frequently should the Church of 
God be meditating on these things, and pon- 
dering the weight and excellency of them in 
their minds : for, to quote an Article of our 
Church, " To godly persons, and such as feel 
in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, 
mortifying the works of the flesh and their 
earthly members, and drawing up their minds 
to high and heavenly things, the godly conside- 
ration of our predestination and election in 
Christ is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeak- 
able comfort*." 

2. The Christian is further to be considered 
as saved in the son; or, in the language of 
the text, in Christ Jesus. 

This our Saviour lays down as evidence of 
our election : Every man, said he, which hath 
heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me 
(Johnvi.45.) Every heaven-instructedChristian, 
convinced that he is ignorant, guilty, polluted, 
and enslaved, applies to Christ that he mayo/* God 
be made to him ivisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. i. 30). He 
feels himself authorised to do this, because God 
hath set forth his Son to be a propitiation, 

* Seventeenth Article of the Church of England, 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



259 



through faith in his blood (Rom. hi. 2*5;) : and he 
is encouraged to it by the gracious invitations 
of Christ himself— Come unto me, all ye that 
labour and are heavy laden (Matt. xi. 28) — Him* 
that cometh unto me, I will in no ivise cast out 
(John vi. 37) — and, Whosoever will, let him 
come; without money and without price (Rev. 
xxii. 17. Is. Iv. 1). From this period, he be- 
gins to date a new era of his life; for, by 
renouncing all confidence in himself and desir- 
ing the righteousness which is of God by faith, 
he makes that critical transition, which carries 
him from death unto life: having come to 
God by Christ, he is regarded by God as 
in Christ: his former sins are remembered no 
more: God is satisfied with the atonement of 
Christ for them : a justifying righteousness is no 
more required of him, because Christ's right- 
eousness is imputed to him, by faith ; and the 
rewards of heaven, though merited only by 
Christ, are bestowed on the believer because he 
is in Christ. 

How safe, how peaceable, how happy, how 
honourable to be thus in Christ! What are the 
feelings of those, who, after being in danger of 
shipwreck, have reached a hospitable shore? 
how does their late danger enhance their enjoy- 
ment of safety ! Thus the man, who hath set his 

s 2 



260 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



foot on the Rock of Ages, may rejoice in his 
escape from danger, and in the assurance of his 
everlasting safety. The agitations of this tem- 
pestuous world and the tumults of a troubled 
conscience he has now escaped, and can smile 
at the angry billows breaking far beneath him. 
Now he lifts high his song of triumph — The 
Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deli- 
verer: my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; 
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my 
high tower (Ps. xviii. 2). Now he sends his 
challenge through the creation — Who shall 
separate me from the love of Christ? shall 
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, 
or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? nay, in all these 
things we are more than conquerors through 
him that loved us (Rom. viii. 35, 37). Such 
is the safe and honourable situation of be- 
lievers : and such the happiness resulting from 
their privileges ; receiving a further addi- 
tion from that sanctification of nature, which 
they receive from the influences of the Holy 
Ghost. 

3. This is the third point which we were to 
consider : holiness is that to which they are 
led, both by the love of the Father and by their 
union to the Son. This is the connection 
observable in the text. Called to what ? not 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 261 



only to be saints in Christ Jesus, but sanctified 
in Christ Jesus. 

Concerning the necessity of holinesss, no 
humble Christian will pretend to raise doubts, 
since it is so expressly declared, that without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord (Heb. xii. 14) ; 
though some, who affect to be advocates of 
grace, have fallen into the Antinomian heresy, 
professing to know God, but in works denying 
him. We suppose that none of you have fallen 
into this delusion ; yet it is necessary to have 
it constantly inculcated upon our minds, that 
God, who hath called us to obtain salvation 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, hath also called 
us to be holy, in order to be meet to be par- 
takers of the inheritance of the saints in light 
(Col.i. 12). 

If he has appointed to us the end, he has also 
appointed to us the means of attaining that end. 
Is it said that he hath saved us, not at all accord- 
ing to our works, but according to his own 
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ 
Jesus before the ivorld began ? — it is in the same 
verse asserted that he hath saved us, and called 
us with a holy calling (2 Tim. i. 9). Are we 
described as partakers of the heavenly calling? — 
immediately before is our corresponding title, 
holy brethren (Heb. iii. 1 ). Are there given unto 
us exceeding great and precious promises /—for 



262 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



what purpose ? that by these we might be par- 
takers of a divine nature, and escape the corrup- 
tion that is in the world (2 Pet. i. 4). 

These passages illustrate that part of the text 
for which they were adduced ; because they 
prove that there is an inseparable connection 
in God's purpose of bestowing holiness and 
salvation. 

It must not, however, be imagined that holi- 
ness is a condition to be performed on our 
parts, for this were to make the Gospel a cove- 
nant of works. Holiness is the gift of God to 
us, not for a price paid by us to God ; and it 
holds such a distinguished rank among the 
other benefits conferred on us, as members of 
Christ, that it is taken for the sum of evange- 
lical blessings : as in that part of St. Peters 
Sermon, God having raised up his Son Jesus, 
sent him to bless you, in turning aivay every one 
of you from his iniquities (Acts iii. 26). 

The immediate agent employed in this blessed 
work is the Holy Ghost — Elect according to the 
foreknoivledge of God the Father, through sane- 
tification of the Spirit, unto obedience (iPet.i. 2). 
Yet are his influences derived from such sources 
and regulated by such a standard, that we must 
still be said to be sanctified in Christ Jesus: for 
as the Holy Spirit is given to us primarily only 
for the worthiness of Christ, so on his account 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



268 



the sacred gift is continued to us ; for while 
we do so much to grieve the Holy Spirit of 
God, why does the divine influence still de- 
scend to us in a never-ceasing stream, but 
because the intercession of Christ is the source 
that supplies it ? The manner also of the agency 
of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification is, to 
lead us continually to Christ — to bring his words 
to our remembrance — to exhibit the pattern of 
his life — to teach us to renounce all confidence 
in our own wisdom, and depend altogether on 
his grace — to recall to our minds our obligations 
to live unto him who died for us ; our baptismal 
engagements to die with him, and to rise with 
him to newness of life ; to have the world cru- 
cified to us, and ourselves to the world, by vir- 
tue of his Cross ; and, in fine, as we have re- 
ceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so to walk in him. 

This completes the Apostle's Description of 
the Christian Character; and what need be 
added to shew its excellency and dignity? 
His name engraved in the Book of Life — his 
interests united inseparably with those of the 
Son of God — and his bosom the abode of that 
august inhabitant the Holy Ghost — the Man of 
God stands at an immeasurable distance from 
whatever is admirable on earth. If an indi- 
vidual possesses such excellency, how admi- 
rable the society composed of such members ! 



264 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



God rejoices over them with joy, and joys over 
them with singing. Well, therefore, may even 
an inspired Apostle delight to address his Sa- 
lutation to them — Paul, called to be an Apostle 
of Jesus Christ, to the Church which is at Co- 
rinth, Grace unto you, and peace from God the 
Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

II. This SALUTATION we were, in the second 
place, to consider. 

The forms of salutation current among 
men have little meaning, either with those 
who give or those who receive them ; yet is the 
neglect of them by no means unimportant : for, 
in a world so generally defective in principle, 
they are necessary to the maintenance of mutual 
civility ; and, in many cases, an acknowledge- 
ment due to superiority of rank ; and are, con- 
sequently, by no means to be discountenanced 
by Christians as bordering upon insincerity. 
In the mouth of Christians, they neither are nor 
need be insincere; for religion ennobles and 
sanctifies the common occurrences of life, in- 
fuses a new spirit into lifeless forms, and makes 
the daily routine of things an exercise of exalted 
virtue. 

Salutations are expressive of a wish ; and the 
wish, expressed in the customary forms of 
them, is for the health or prosperity of those to 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



265 



whom they are given. As the usual form among 
the Greeks was that word which is translated 
Grace, and that among the Jews was Peace, 
both these are adopted by St. Paul ; who ele- 
vates their signification to spiritual things, and 
expresses by them his desire for the promotion 
of the best interests of Christian People: Grace 
be unto you, and Peace / He wished not for the 
increase of their Wealth ; for that is often a 
snare to the possessor, and increases the diffi- 
culty of entering the kingdom of heaven : he 
wished them not Honour; which has a ten- 
dency to promote that self-complacency which 
we ought to detest, and opposes that self-degra- 
dation which the Christian loves : not even for 
their Health and Long Life does he express a 
wish ; because his mind was engaged with de- 
sires for their spiritual prosperity and immortal 
happiness. In short, he seems to have over- 
looked most of those things which appear de- 
sirable to the worldly, because, in general, they 
are not suitable to those who are called saints. 
On the contrary, with peculiar propriety, after 
his description of their character, he desires for 
them what was appropriate to that character : 
he wishes them w hatever, as saints, they need- 
whatever, as saints, they desire. 

1 . He wishes for them grace. 

Grace is that which they Need. Though 



266 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



their name be saints — that is, holy ; though they be 
a holy people, in comparison of the world around 
them and of their former selves ; yet is their holi- 
ness incomplete. The divine change wrought in 
them extends over all the faculties, but is perfect 
in none of them : this is St. Paul's testimony of 
himself in Romans, ch. vii, which contains amap 
of his own heart. Sanctification is, therefore, a 
progressive work ; and such is the difficulty at- 
tending the prosecution of it, that the natural 
powers of man are utterly insufficient to over- 
come them: Without me, says our Lord, ye can 
do nothing (John xv. 5). We need, therefore, 
Grace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; and that only is it, which, secretly and 
invisibly infused into the heart, feeds the flame 
of piety, and enables us to maintain a walk in 
any degree consistent with our profession and 
principles. Our need of grace can, however, 
be known only by experience: who, for in- 
stance, but those who are assured of it from 
their own feelings, would believe, that, after we 
are sanctified and set apart from the world by 
God and made to differ from it in temper and 
pursuits, the mere reflection on the shortness 
of its duration, the intrinsic meanness of its 
pleasures, our speedy departure from it, and 
past experience of its insignificancy, are not 
sufficient to overcome every temptation to love 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 287 

it ? It appears, however, by fact, that the will 
is too stubborn to be bent by such conside- 
rations ; and therefore the Scripture, though it 
does not overlook such natural reflections , 
leads us ultimately to Grace, as that which gives 
to other motives their persuasive power : it asks 
this question, Who is he that over comet h the 
tvorld? — the philosopher, who can analyse its 
nature ? no : he can despise it, and yet remain 
a slave to it — the moralist, who can descant on 
its vanity? — the poor man, who is debarred 
from enjoying it? no: this is the victory that 
overcometh the world, even our faith (1 John v. 
4, o): but faith is a heaven-descended principle, 
the gift of God, and not the native energy of the 
mind. If, then, to preserve the soul in its sanc- 
tity, Grace be necessary in those easy cases, 
where reason and experience co-operate in its 
favour, how shall the feeble spirit of man 
wrestle, unassisted, against the powerful legions 
of hell ? He cannot, as the Scriptures declare, 
unless he put on the whole armour of God — gird 
truth upon his loins, take righteousness for his 
breastplate, peace for his sandals, salvation 
for his helmet, and the Word of God for his 
sword (Eph. vi. 11—17): but all these are wea- 
pons tempered in heaven, and provided for him 
out of the armoury of God : they are diversi- 
fied forms of operations of grace, whereby 



288 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



God empowers his servants to maintain their 
conflicts. 

Thus it appears, how the Needfulness of 
grace shew r s the suitableness of the Apostle's 
wish. 

The Desirableness of grace to the saints 
exhibits the propriety of his salutation, in an- 
other particular. He met their wishes, and told 
of a gratifying subject, when he spoke of their 
increase of grace : for, in consequence of that 
renovation of taste wrought in them from above, 
the children of God have a real affection to ho- 
liness, find in it the sweetest enjoyment, and 
press after it with unconquerable ardour: One 
thing I do, says St. Paul — -forgetting those 
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto 
those things ivhich are before, I press toward the 
mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus (Phil. iii. 13, 14). They love all the 
means of grace; all those employments which are 
constituted by God to be the channels of this de- 
sired influence : thus the Psalmist, speaking of 
public worship — One thing have I desired of the 
Lord; that will I seek after, that I may dwell 
in the house of the Lord (Ps. xxvii. 4) ; and of 
the Scriptures he says — Oh how Hove thy Law! 
it is my meditation all the day (Ps. cxix. 97) : and 
if there be a train of thought which has at any 
time led their minds to a frame of devotion. 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



260 



they endeavour to recal those reflections, that 
they may again enjoy those devotional feelings 
which they would constantly retain. If it were, 
therefore, proposed to the choice of a saint, as 
it was to Solomon, what he would request, all 
his desires would be concentrated in this, " that 
he might receive more grace." And not only 
is grace itself so desirable to him, but the man- 
ner in which he is to obtain it, according to the 
economy of redemption, is pleasing to him : it 
accords with his inclination, rather to receive 
occasional supplies from God the Father and 
our Lord Jesus Christ, than to possess resources 
in himself: he is contented to have no resource 
of grace, but to be dependant on God through 
Christ. 

2. Let us apply the same remarks to the other 
part of the Apostolic Salutation: peace, as 
well as Grace, is a proper subject of a Christian 
Wish ; because it is both necessary and de- 
sirable. 

Peace with God and with conscience is that 
blissful enjoyment which we receive by being 
in Christ: for, being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ 
(Rom. v. 1): and it is a peace to which every 
other man is a stranger ; for there is no peace 
saith my God, to the wicked (Is. Ivii. 21). 

But, besides this peace, there is a certain 



270 



THIRTEENTH SERMON, 



tranquillity and evenness of mind, which, 
however favourable to our sanctification, we 
find it exceedingly difficult to preserve amidst 
the confusion of this life. It is our aim and 
purpose to regard this world with the eye of a 
stranger — to pass on without seeking a rest 
below — to feel indifferent where others are inte- 
rested — and, while we discharge our duties in 
life with diligence, to reflect continually that 
the world and all the things of it are passing 
away : but, alas ! how seldom do we adhere 
to our purpose with steadiness — how often do 
we stop to look around us, where we ought to 
be pursuing our way — how often lend an ear to 
trifling conversation or trifling thoughts— how 
often are we carried away by the stream of 
general example, and suffer our worldly concerns 
to engross our minds ; nay, are disposed to 
justify our anxiety ! Thus the peace of our 
minds is disturbed, and the consequences are 
highly injurious to our spiritual interests : for 
when there is little heavenly-mindedness, self- 
recollection, and serenity, a Christian Temper 
is maintained with difficulty : we cannot, as we 
are commanded, be prepared for every good 
word and work ; nor, indeed, be in any respect 
qualified to adorn the doctrine of God our 
Saviour. 

That this peace, so necessary, so desirable, and 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



271 



yet so difficult to be preserved, is the gift of 
God, and, therefore, properly the subject of a 
wish or prayer, is sufficiently evident from nu- 
merous passages of Scripture : The peace of 
God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep 
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus 
(Phil. iv. 7). Thou wilt keep him in perfect 
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee (Is. xxvi. 3). 
The Lord of peace himself give you peace always 
by all means (2 Thess. iii. 16). 

Nothing more appearing necessary for the 
elucidation of the text, it will be useful to re- 
consider the two points which have been dis- 
cussed : first, by applying to ourselves the De- 
scription given of the Christian ; secondly, by 
adopting the Apostle's Salutation. 

1 . Inquire, Brethren, into the state of religion 
in your hearts ; and if you would form a correct 
estimate, apply the apostle's description of 

THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER TO YOUR OWN. It 

is not to be expected that your's will corre- 
spond to it in every particular ; but is there a 
resemblance ?— are the same characteristic 
lineaments to be discerned in each? 

If, to refer to the particulars before insisted 
on, we inquire concerning our election of the 
Father, let us ask if we have chosen Him for 
our portion : if so, it proves that we are chosen 



272 



THIRTEENTH SERMON". 



by him ; this being the Scripture mode of 
arguing, We love him, because he first loved us 
(1 John iv. 19). The Book of Life need not 
be opened to us, for our names are there. 

In the next place, what are our views of the 
Son of God ? It were easy to say that we de- 
pend on his merits : many Nominal Christians 
may say as much, understanding neither what 
they say nor whereof they affirm : they receive 
the Christian doctrine of atonement ; partly be- 
cause they have no reason to object to it ; and 
partly because, in their views of it, it supplies 
their defects, or, in other words, countenances 
sin. We shall act more justly by inquiring 
whether that moment has yet occurred, when, 
sensible of our desert of God's wrath and dam- 
nation, we have actually fled for refuge to Christ: 
if so, happy are ye ; the Spirit of glory and of 
God resteth upon you — if otherwise, no Christian 
Profession, no external correctness of conduct, 
will compensate for the want of a vital union to 
Christ. 

Lastly, adverting to the remaining part of the 
Apostle's description, are we sanctified in Christ 
Jesus ? For the solution of this question, let 
your spirit and conversation be inspected ; for 
a test more unequivocal cannot be applied : 
a tree is known by its fruits ; and the fruit of the 
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long -suffering, gentle- 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 



273 



tiess, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. 
v. 22, 23). You will observe, in this circle of 
Christian Virtues, something more than ho- 
nesty, harmlessness, or any negative virtue. 
You will perceive that those who are sanctified 
in Christ Jesus, will bear some resemblance at 
least to the divine original, in all the various 
excellencies which adorned His character. May 
we then see in you the image of our Lord Jesus 
Christ? — his devotion, self-denial, and pro- 
found humility ? Is the increase of holiness 
your daily pursuit? Do you lament when your 
efforts for obtaining it are defeated? Then, 
however weak your faith or feeble your endea- 
vours, you are led by the Spirit, and are un- 
doubtedly the sons of God. Would that each 
of us would faithfully apply the Scripture Cri- 
terion to himself ; and learn to adjust his cha- 
racter to the pattern laid down for a Christian 
in the Word of God ! Then should we adopt 
the apostolic salutation without hesitation. 
Yet still shall it be lawful for us to wish Grace 
and Peace to every individual of the present 
assembly. \ 

After a long absence from the House of God 
at home*, visiting only those shores where 
Christian Idolatry substitutes the crucifix for 

* This was the first Sermon preached by the Author at the 
Mission Church, Calcutta, shortly after his arrival in India. 

T 



*274 



THIRTEENTH SERMON. 



the doctrine of the cross, I desire, on this oc- 
casion, to acknowledge with gratitude the 
good providence of God, who hath permitted 
me to behold a congregation of Christians — a 
Christian Congregation of my countrymen in 
this distant land. Humbly do I implore the 
divine blessing on you all ! O my Brethren, 
may you ever enjoy that peace which the reli- 
gion that you profess is calculated to afford ; 
and be the means of diffusing light and joy 
throughout this benighted region ! Situated 
as you are, in the midst of the enemies of 
Christ, amidst idolaters of every description, 
you are justly regarded by the Christian World 
as occupying the most arduous and responsible 
situation in it. Nay, even the Saviour himself 
may be conceived to be more attentively ob- 
serving your conduct, in which his honour is so 
deeply interested. By you the surrounding 
nations can take a nearer view of Christianity, 
and inspect its nature more narrowly ; and the 
multitudes of all religions who are collected 
in this place, will be carrying into all parts of 
the world, what they see and hear in the fol- 
lowers of Christ. Oh, let not that Holy Name 
be blasphemed through any inconsistency of 
yours: let not pride or luxury be observable in 
the disciples of Him, who was meek and lowly 
in heart. Let them see in the lives of Chris- 



THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 2BS 

tians what Christianity itself is ; and, if they 
will not embrace the Gospel, let them be con- 
strained to admire the professors of it. To this 
your country calls you. To descant on the 
public virtues of the British Inhabitants of 
India, would be foreign to our purpose : their 
established character needs not my feeble 
eulogy; but great indeed will be the honour 
which you will reflect on your country, if you 
prove by your lives, that Britain is not less 
pious than she is magnanimous and brave. 

Permit me thus far to have applied the Apo- 
stle's Salutation to yourselves; and now, in 
conclusion, let us unite with St. Paul in wishing 
grace and peace to all, that in every place call 
upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both 
theirs and ours. Let every heart expand 
with divine benevolence. Let imagination trans- 
port us from shore to shore : let us think, how, 
with sacred ardour, they bend before the 
Universal Lord — their hearts acknowledge with 
ours a kindred affection — though their names 
be different, yet their Lord and ours is one— 
though they differ from us in nation, or rank, o r 
colour, yet in this they resemble us, that they 
call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus — is he 
ours? he is theirs also. Then let us, with cor- 
dial and comprehensive charity, embrace them 
all ! Let us heartily wish all the assemblies of 

T 2 



270 THIRTEENTH SERMON. 

Zion grace and peace. And if, in this mental 
circuit, our thoughts veer to our Native Land, 
and fond memory recall those beloved scenes 
which imagination paints in colours perhaps 
more pleasing than true, let her assemblies of 
faithful Christians engage our more fervent 
prayers: thus shall our local attachments be 
elevated into an exercise of spiritual affection, 
and call down a rich effusion of blessings on 
ourselves and them. 

Thus let us live in this heavenly temper 
toward all around ; and, while we delight to 
find new objects of our love, let faithful hope 
realize that glorious day, when, in a larger 
sense, the prophecy of God by Zephaniah 
(chap. iii. ver. 9, 10) shall be fulfilled. 1 will 
turn to the people a pure language, that they 
may all call upon the name of the Lord, to 
serve him with one consent. From beyond the 
rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the 
daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine 
offering. 



SERMON XIV. 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 



1 CORINTH. I. 23, 24. 

We preach Christ Crucified; unto the Jews a 
stumbling block ; and unto the Greeks foolish- 
ness ; but unto them which are called, both 
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God 
and the wisdom of God. 

If at any time God is pleased to make a reve- 
lation of his will to mankind, and to point out 
away of salvation to them which is entirely 
new, it is evident that we can be in no respect 
judges before hand, what kind of revelation is 
to be expected, or what sort of truths are likely 
to be contained in it. We cannot so much as 
conjecture about these things with any appear- 
ance of probability; but must wait in patient 
expectation, till the revelation is actually made ; 
because the nature and necessities of man 
may require a treatment which we are not at 



278 



FOURTEENTH SERMOX. 



all aware of. God's manner of governing the 
universe, of which we form but a very small 
part, may be utterly beyond the range and 
reach of our highest apprehension 

Hence, when we examine a revelation pur- 
porting to be from God and inquire into the 
way of salvation pointed out in it, our minds 
must be made up to difficulties, and be con- 
tented to remain ignorant on many points which 
we hoped would have been revealed. When 
once we are satisfied with the external evi- 
dences of its truth, it is incumbent on us to 
inquire what is the revealed will of God ; not 
what it ought to be, or might have been. 
It becomes us to ask for instruction with humi- 
lity, and to receive it with reverence. If men 
will not conduct their inquiries in this spirit of 
diffidence, but, under the influence of prema- 
ture opinions, will presume to dictate, instead 
of submitting to be taught, God does not 
accommodate himself to the prejudices of 
proud men, nor will he new-model his 
scheme to make it more agreeable to their 
views. As he first sent forth his Scriptures to 
mankind with a certain degree of evidence and 
no more, so he has left them: if men neglect 
them, on whatever plausible pretext, let them 
do it at their peril. Once he has sent forth his 
Word. With the majesty of God he declares, 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 279 

He, that believeth and is baptized, shall be 
saved ; but he, that believeth not, shall be damned 
(Mark xvi. 16). It is, therefore, not to be ex- 
pected, that God will enlighten the eyes of a 
captious scrutinizer of his truths ; but will 
rather, in conformity to the principles of his 
wise and righteous government, leave them in 
darkness. If they look into the ark of God, 
like the Bethshemites, with unhallowed eyes 
and captious scrutiny, they will meet with a 
similar fate. God will not suffer any to trifle 
with his holy things. Their rashness will be 
death to them. Yet do unreasonable men per- 
sist in trying and examining the Gospel, by 
preconceived opinions — some judging of it 
according to the opinions imbibed in infancy ; 
others approving of it no farther than it will 
countenance self-indulgence ; and, according 
, as the preached Gospel shall answer these con- 
ditions or not, determining to receive or re- 
ject it. 

Of this latter description were the unbelievers 
of old : they required in the new religion cer- 
tain things as indispensable ; and when their 
expectations were disappointed they had done 
with it. Thus says St. Paul, in the preceding 
text, The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks 
seek after wisdom, when they ought to have re- 
quired nothing but the evidences of its truths ; 
but tve preach Christ Crucified— r & subject which 



280 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



they neither expected nor relished : therefore 
the one found it a stumbling-block, and the 
other foolishness. 

In the words first read to you, there are 
three things to be considered. First, The sub- 
ject of the Apostle's preaching ; secondly, the 

DIFFERENT MODES OF ITS RECEPTION among 

men; thirdly, the true light in which it is 

TO BE RECEIVED. 

I. The SUBJECT of the Apostle's preaching-, 
was Christ Crucified: which is, in brief, this 
proposition — That Jesus, who was crucified, is 
the Saviour of the World ; or, more fully, the 
doctrine embraces all that respects the origin 
and scheme of salvation. 

Man having subjected himself to the curse of 
God, no way of deliverance was found but by 
the divine interposition in his favour. The Fa- 
ther, in mere mercy, sent his Son into the 
world ; and He undertook to save them, in the 
only way in which it was practicable, namely, 
by substituting himself in their stead : the Law 
of God required perfect obedience — he there- 
fore answered the demands of the Law, and 
fulfilled it in their stead: their past sins required 
punishment — he therefore suffered it in his own 
person. With this work God declares himself 
satisfied, and accepts him as a propitiation for 
the sins of the world— that, for which he is 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 281 

■willing to be propitious to men, to pardon and 
take them into favour, to give them the spirit of 
holiness, and at last to exalt them to his glory. 

Moreover, the way in which men can be in- 
terested in his death and receive the benefits 
flowing from it, is not by palliating their sins, 
or thinking themselves excusable, but by faith, 
and by faith only; casting themselves upon 
God as sinners, inexcusable and deserving of 
hell. If, renouncing all hope in themselves, 
they will thus come to Christ, they shall be jus- 
tified freely by His grace — their hearts delivered 
from their attachment to sin — and they brought, 
without fail, to everlasting happiness. 

We preach Christ, says St. Paul. This is 
not, indeed, to be invariably dwelling on the 
way of salvation by him ; for men would by 
habit cease to have their attention engaged, and 
thus the end of preaching would be defeated : 
but it is to make it the main subject of our dis- 
courses — it is to be ever seeking to lead sinners 
to Christ. 

To accomplish this end, various means may 
appear necessary. The minds of men may 
require certain preparation, for want of which 
the Gospel would be unintelligible. 

The Heathen Auditors at Athens needed 
St. Paul to explain to them the unity and spi- 
rituality of God and his providence, together 



282 FOURTEENTH SER3IOX, 

with the certainty of a future state of rewards 
and punishments. And probably, in address- 
ing the Jews, he endeavoured to convince them 
of their condemnation by their own law : he 
would point to their own sacrifices ; and hence 
argue the necessity of some better sacrifice to 
take away sin. He would always give so much 
previous instruction, as the circumstances of 
the case seemed to require. Asa wise master- 
builder, who designs to raise an edifice on a 
particular spot, surveys the ground, removes 
other buildings with which it is encumbered, 
and clears away as many obstructions as pos- 
sible, that then he may lay a good foundation ; 
so the Minister of the Gospel will be gradually 
seeking to edify the souls of men on Christ the 
true foundation, and yet make use of all the 
variety of methods which the topics of religion 
or the feelings of men will supply. 

But though the Way of Salvation by Christ 
need not be constantly the preacher's theme, 
yet occasionally, and from time to time, men 
must be called to the single consideration of 
Christ Crucified. This is the sun that warms 
and enlightens the svstem of revealed truth : 
in the direct beamings of this sun, we must 
sometimes be placed, as well as have the genial 
light of it diffused around us. 

Whenever we profess to confine ourselves to 



TI3E BREACHING* OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 283 

this doctrine formally and exclusively, we then 
preach Christ Crucified; by representing him 
to mankind as the only Saviour, and the all- 
sufficient Saviour. 

As the only Saviour, we teach, that it is 
not permitted men to choose their own religion, 
or to cast up a high-way for themselves whereby 
to arrive at heaven, or to work out a righteous- 
ness of their own to recommend them; but that 
Christ alone is the tcay, and the truth, and the 
life (John xvi. 6) — that other foundation can no 
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ 
(1 Cor. hi. 11) — that there is none other name 
under heaven given among men, whereby we must 
be saved, but only the name of Jesus Christ 
(Acts iv. 12). 

We proclaim him also the all-sufficient 
Saviour. In his offers of salvation, we declare 
that he requires no previous qualification ; but, 
equally regardless of the antecedent morality 
or immorality of the subjects, he commands 
them to receive, and not to purchase — offers 
salvation freely to those who see themselves 
perishing, and promises to give all the holiness 
of heart which is necessary to fit them for 
heaven ; and, then, that he is able to save to 
the utmost — fully qualified to begin, carry on. 
and complete the happiness and holiness of 
everv believer. 



I 



284 FOURTEENTH SERMON. 

These doctrines relating to Christ were 
uniformly insisted on by St. Paul and all the 
first preachers of the Gospel. Thus we read 
that Philip went down to the city of Samaria, 
and preached Christ unto them (Acts viii. 5) ; 
and when he was explaining the Scriptures to 
the Eunuch he preached unto him Jesus (Acts 

viii. 35). Notwithstanding the opposition which 
they had to encounter in doing it, the other 
Apostles daily in the temple, and in every house, 
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ (Acts 
v. 42). St. Paul, on his conversion, straight- 
way preached Christ in the synagogues (Acts 

ix. 20) : and he determined to know nothing, 
but Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Cor.ii. 2) ; 
nor to glory in any thing, but the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. vi. 14). There were 
some who preached Christ of contention, not 
sincerely; yet, says the Apostle, tvhet her in pre- 
tence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I 
therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice (Phil, 
i. 16, 18): he never repented of having laid too 
great stress on this doctrine ; for we hear him 
reminding the Ephesians at the time he was 
taking leave of them, that he had testified to 
them repentance toivard God, and faith toward 
our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts xx. 21). 

In all after-ages, even to the present moment, 
the men who are chosen of God to be his wit- 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 285 



nesses on earth, treading in the steps of the 
Apostles of old, have persisted in proclaiming 
the glories of their Lord. They take their 
place at a distance, as being servants, from a 
wish to remain unnoticed, that the single un- 
divided attention of mankind may be fixed on 
the Master whom they serve. They preach not 
themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. They 
are equally cautious about leading their hearers 
into error, by confounding the grace of God 
and the law of works, or by setting forth such 
principles of morality as the Heathen Sages 
might have taught ; and give themselves up to 
the study of those divine mysteries which are 
known only by Revelation, that from them they 
may learn how to build up your souls on that 
foundation, which will stand the test of the 
Judgment Day. 

Moreover, when they preach Christ Cruci- 
fied, as they find it revealed, they are not 
concerned about making the doctrine appear 
more reasonable, so as to approve it to the 
learned, nor to state it so as to leave no room 
for objections ; but as the Scriptures have left 
it, so they take it up. They do not gild over 
the Cross, or invest it with gaudy trappings, or 
allure men to it by deceitful panegyrics ; but 
they take their stand at the foot of the blood- 
stained tree, and proclaim, in those words 



280 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



which were written on the Cross — Jesus of 
Nazareth, the King of the Jews ! Thus the 
Apostles preached. 

II. What RECEPTION this preaching met 
with in the world comes next under our consi- 
deration. 

1. To the jews, it was a stumbling block. 

The Jews had been accustomed to displays 
of supernatural glory. The promulgation of the 
Law at Mount Sinai was accompanied with all 
that splendid train of circumstances, w T hich most 
powerfully strikes the outward senses. Hence 
the Jews, when they heard of the pretensions 
of our Lord, sought of him a sign from heaven, 
saying, Master, ice icould see asign from thee — a 
sign from heaven (Matt. xii. 38. ; xvi. 1). So 
those who came to hear St. Paul preach in the 
synagogues, expected he would ground his doc- 
trines on a fact of such extraordinary glory, that 
the very description of it should delight and 
astonish them : but when they found that a man 
put to death by their countrymen was the foun- 
dation of this new religion, which was to super- 
sede the whole system of the Jewish Ritual, 
they rejected it without hesitation. Thus the 
Person of Christ was a stumbling-block to the 
Jews, because deficient in external glory. 

Equally offensive to them was the Doctrine 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST 



CRUCIFIED. 



287 



of the Gospel, because it was directly subversive 
of all their self-righteous confidence. They 
were by the Apostles told that God was no re- 
specter of persons — that, before Him, their 
mouths must be stopped — that they were as 
guilty as the rest of men; and must be saved, if 
they were saved at all, not because they were 
the children of Abraham, or were strict in cere- 
monial observances and in works of morality, 
but only by faith in that person whom they had 
put to death. They found, moreover, that the 
Gospel is proposed equally to the moral and 
immoral — making no difference between them, 
but reducing them to a level ; offering to Scribes 
and Pharisees salvation on the same terms as to 
Publicans and Sinners. Every part of such a 
statement was calculated to provoke their indig- 
nation. To renounce their own righteousness, 
and thus to be brought on a level with the ac- 
cursed Gentiles, was what they never would hear 
of without rage. National and personal pride, 
prejudices imbibed in infancy and inveterate by 
time, all revolted against such humiliating doc- 
ffines. They stumbled, according to the pro- 
phecy of Isaiah and the predictions of Simeon : 
He was for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock 
of offence (Is. viii. 14): he was set for the fall of 
many in Israel (LukeiL 34). Though he visited 
them as the day-spring from on high — though 



288 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



he rose as the morning-star, and shone as the 
sun in his strength, to guide their feet and shine 
on their path to heaven — they took offence at 
him. In consequence, the Gospel remained 
more than darkness to them: it became as a 
stumbling-block in their way, to which when 
they came they stumbled, and fell over it head- 
long into eternal perdition. 

2. The Gospel met with no better reception 
among the greeks, who rejected it from causes 
which correspond to those which influenced 
the Jews. As the Jews sought after a sign, 
so the Greeks sought after wisdom; and as the 
Jews were proud with self-righteousness, so 
the Greeks were filled with conceit of their 
learning. They sought after wisdom. 

Every branch of human learning was, at this 
time, in the highest state of cultivation ; but the 
favourite study was that of the science of 
Morality: to that they directed particularly 
their attention, in order to discover some method 
of checking the progress of profligacy : they in- 
quired into the difference of virtue and vice, as 
to the happiness of man : they formed systems 
of morality according to their various views, de- 
fended them by learned arguments, and were 
zealous of making proselytes to their sentiments. 
Hence, on the appearance of the Preachers of 
the Gospel, the Philosophers expected from men 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 289 

setting out to be the instructors of the world, 
profound learning— a laboured investigation of 
truth and morals — refined arguments and inge- 
nious deductions — something which might en- 
tertain cultivated minds, and lay the foundation 
for new improvements in theoretic wisdom. 
These things they sought, but they found them 
not. They heard the Sermons of St. Paul; but 
there was nought, in the matter or manner 
of them, that satisfied their literary thirst: they 
received no increase to then* ideas, by his doc- 
trines ; nor did they find any exercise of their 
powers of reasoning, by his manner of stating 
them. On the contrary, the simple preaching 
of Christ Crucified, with the expectation of re- 
forming mankind by it, appeared to these phi- 
losophers highly foolish and absurd ; inso- 
much that they openly expressed their contempt 
of the 4P 0S ^ es > an d treated the doctrines of 
Jesus and the resurrection with ridicule (Acts 
xvai. 18). 

But besides the foolishness of the doctrine in 
their views of it, the pride and conceit of their 
hearts interposed another obstacle to their 
receiving it. The Gospel was neither preached 
by learned men ; neither did it require learning 
or education to comprehend it. Besides, no 
homage v was paid to their own superior abili- 
ties, but they were addressed by the Apostle, 

u 



290 



FOURTEENTH SERMON, 



with the same plainness as the illiterate vulgar, 
This treatment was too humiliating for the wise 
men to brook : they would not condescend to sit 
at the feet of fishermen, along with those whom 
they despised. Had the preachers been willing 
to pay them deference and allow them to be in 
need of no further instruction, they would have 
been better pleased; but the Apostle com- 
manded them to unlearn all their errors, to lay 
by their proud prejudices, to become fools, that 
they might be wise; and warned them, that, 
unless they were born again, unless they were 
converted and became as little children, they 
would certainly, with the most low and igno- 
rant, lie down in everlasting burnings. Such a 
system as this, which made no difference be- 
tween the wise and unwise, was vehemently op- 
posed by all the feelings of their proud hearts. 

3. In the midst of this crowd of unbelievers, 
there was found a poor and despised people, 

BOTH OF JEWS AND GREEKS, TO WHOM THE 
GOSPEL CAME IN POWER AND THE HOLY GHOST. 

For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world 
by wisdom knew not God; that is, after God had 
in his wisdom suffered men to make the ex- 
periment for several ages, whether human wis- 
dom could bring men to the knowledge of God, 
and let them see by facts that it was impossible, 
then by the foolishness of preaching he saved 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCI Fl ED. 291 

them that believe : to them, Christ Crucified 
was the Power of God, and the Wisdom oj God- 
Ill. And that, as we are in the last place 
to shew you, is the TRUE LIGHT IN WHICH 
IT IS TO BE VIEWED. 

1. It is the power of God. 
Power is estimated by the effects which it 
produces: one power is greater than another, 
if it produce greater effects than another, or the 
same effects by less means. 

Now to wave all other considerations that 
display the Power of God as it operates in the 
Gospel, the single fact of a sinner's conversion 
by the doctrine of the cross is sufficient to 
establish this point. 

For observe the state and condition of an 
obstinate sinner. He has given the reigns to 
appetite, and has been long running the career 
of wickedness : he goes on, deaf to the admo- 
nitions and intreaties of friends, and the warn- 
ings of conscience ; and, regardless of conse- 
quences, is scarcely restrained, by the terrors of 
an ignominious death, from perpetrating the 
blackest crimes : the joys of heaven have no 
power to attract his desires, nor can the threat- 
enings of eternal punishment deter him from 
sin : he continues his course of self-indulgence ; 
and becomes headstrong— intractable— -out- 

u 2 



292 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



rageous: all human means having failed to 
reclaim him, he is generally given up as irre- 
coverably vicious. In the course of a short 
time, the very same person may be seen walk- 
ing soberly, righteously, and godly ; not par- 
tially reformed, but following universal holiness : 
holding communion with that God whose very 
name he hated, delighting in that society which 
once he despised, he lives the ornament of human 
nature, and dies with a hope full of immortality. 
What was it, we ask, that changed him ? did 
the angel Gabriel lead him in a vision to the 
empyreal heaven, and overpower his corrup- 
tions by a torrent of divine glory? or was a 
spirit of darkness sent to conduct him to the 
confines of hell, that the nearer sight of the livid 
flame might startle his soul, and force him from 
his sins 1 No ! these arguments, or others as 
strong, had been tried in vain: legal hopes never 
yet made the heart yield : No! the man, whose 
change we are accounting for, once heard that 
faithful saying, That Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners — that the Son of God him- 
self had died for the chief of sinners — that now 
pardon for the past was offered freely, and 
grace for t^e future stored up for the penitent : 
this strikes his attention and wins his heart, and 
a gleam of returning hope begins to steal 
through his breast : " If this great salvation be 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 293 



for any," he will argue, 44 then why not for me! 
If Christ was crucified for me, then I may hope, 
that, for his sake, God will surely receive me. I 
will believe that the blood of Jesus Christ 
cleanseth from all sin:" he ventures to apply 
for pardon ; and, almost to his own surprise, 
his conscience enjoys peace within I the inward 
change begins by the renovating influences of 
the Holy Ghost ; and the same person, who was 
before in the image of Satan, is made by his in- 
ward purity to resemble the Holy One I 

An instance like this, is not a solitary trophy 
of the victories of the preached Gospel. When 
first the sword of the Spirit was grasped by a 
mortal hand, three thousand fell before it ; and 
wherever in the world it is wielded by the ser- 
vants of God, it marks its way by the conquest 
of all whom it strikes. Many of you can add 
your testimony, from the course of your own 
experience: you can say, it is the doctrine of 
Christ crucified that encouraged you at first to 
set out in the ways of religion — it is that wherein 
the power of God is daily manifested to your souls.. 

Then, if I ask any .of you for a specimen of 
divine power, lead me not to the heights above, 
or the depths beneath— bid me not admire that 
word, which stays the proud waves of the sea 
and forbids it to pass the appointed bounds - 
shew me not the strength of that arm, which 



294 FOURTEENTH SERMON. 

took up the vast orbs of heaven, and hurled 
them along the fields of space; but let us 
ascend Mount Calvary together, and direct our 
eyes to Him that is hanging on the cross — for 
there alone is to be seen, according to God's 
own declaration, what is the exceeding great- 
ness of his power — there, God has exhibited, 
not a partial exertion of his power, but as it is 
energetically expressed here, Christ is the 
Power of God. In Christ, all the diversified 
operations of divine power are concentrated 
and brought to a point. 

2. Christ is also the wisdom of God : for, in 
Christ, God hath attained the two great ends of 
all that he does (if they may be called two), 
namely, his own glory and our happiness. 

Wisdom, you will observe, appears to most 
advantage in cases of difficulty. When she 
steers her way clear through many a perplexing 
difficulty, and at last arrives at her destined end 
without any untoward or disorderly accident, 
then she appears in her proper character and 
native excellence. 

To perceive the wisdom of God in Christ, we 
ought to bear in mind the difficulty of attain- 
ing the end proposed ; which was the glory of 
God and our happiness. If men were an up- 
right race, all would be easy : those who con- 
tinued perfect would ascend to heaven, an4 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 295 

those who sinned would descend to hell. But 
how man, after being a sinner, could be made 
happy here and hereafter, was a problem of no 
small difficulty. If God had pardoned sinners 
by an act of sovereign power, his truth would 
have been impeached ; for he would then give 
life to whom he had before denounced death : 
neither could justice have been exercised : and 
thus, an appearance of weakness would attach 
to the character of God. If, on the contrary, 
he had offered no pardon, he would have been 
just and true indeed : his mercy and love would 
have had no scope for exercise. But, in Christ 
Jesus, mercy and truth, formerly irreconcilable, 
are met together in a friendly manner — right- 
eousness and peace, God's righteousness and our 
peace, have kissed each other ( Ps. lxxxv. 10). 

By his dying on the cross in the stead of sin- 
ners, there was a way opened for the exercise of 
all Gods attributes. For as Christ undertook 
to be accountable to God for all our sins, God 
in punishing Christ punished our sin : thus he 
displayed his justice. Moreover, since that 
person who became our Surety was not one of 
ourselves or an angel, but his own Son, who 
was dear to him, here his mercy and love are 
discovered. 

And not only do the divine attributes find 



296 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



scope for exercise in Christ's death without in- 
terfering, but they throw light on one another. 
Men would perhaps have regarded their par- 
don as no great exertion of mercy in God or 
ground of gratitude in themselves, did they not 
see the severity of God's justice as sustained by 
an innocent person, which would otherwise 
have fallen on themselves ; neither would they 
believe how inviolable was his truth, if he had 
not shewn that he would rather part with his 
own Son, than sully his truth to accomplish 
the salvation of sinners. 

And from this we are led to observe, that 
each attribute is, in the highest degree, set off 
and glorified by its opposite. They are not 
forcibly reconciled together, nor do they merely 
harmonize ; but they all put honour one upon 
another. One does not rise by the depression 
of the other ; but they all rise together. The 
more we see of the glory of one attribute, the 
more we shall see of every other. While God's 
hand lies heavy on his Son, justice assumes its 
dignity ; but mercy likewise rejoices : as the 
strokes of his wrath are redoubled, justice 
wears a look of more awful grandeur; but 
mercy smiles with increased sweetness : and 
when all the vials of wrath are poured forth 
on Christ and justice triumphs in complete 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 297 

majesty, mercy rises with equal progress and 
beams forth from her countenance unutterable 
glory. 

The more we contemplate the mystery of Re- 
demption, the more we shall see it a master- 
piece of Divine Wisdom; and the more sincerely 
shall we join the exclamation of St. Paul, O the 
depth of the riches, both of the ivisdom and know- 
ledge of God! (Rom. xi. 33). Human intellect 
could not conceive a plan more wondrous in 
wisdom to be possible: nay, it is a subject of 
astonishment to angelic minds ; for God has 
designed that noiv unto the principalities and 
powers in heavenly places might made known, 
by the church, the manifold ivisdom of God. 
How justly, therefore, does the Apostle add, 
Howbeit ice speak ivisdom among them that are 
perfect: yet not the ivisdom of this world, nor 
of the princes of this world that come to nought : 
but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, 
even the hidden wisdom which God ordained be- 
fore the world unto our glory (I Cor. ii. 6, 7). 

In CONCLUSION, we notice the Misery of 
those who resist the call of the Gospel. 

There is, in every congregation, a large pro- 
portion of Jews and Greeks. 

There are persons who resemble the Jews in 
self-righteousness ; who, after hearing the doc- 



298 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



trines of grace insisted on for years, yet see no 
occasion at all for changing the ground of their 
hopes. They seek righteousness not by faith, 
but as it were by the works of the law : for they 
stumble at that stumbling-stone (Rom. ix. 32) ; 
or, perhaps after going a little way in the pro- 
fession of the Gospel, they take offence at the 
rigour of the practice which we require, as if 
the Gospel did not enjoin it. This is a hard 
saying, they complain : who can hear it ? (John 
vi.60) — and thus resemble those who first made 
the complaint, who went back and walked no 
more with him (v. 66). 

Others come to carp and to criticise. While 
heretics who deny the Lord that bought them, 
open infidels, professed atheists, grossly wicked 
men, are considered as intitled to candour, 
liberality, and respect, they are pleased to 
make serious professors of the Gospel exclu- 
sively objects of contempt, and set down their 
discourses on the mvsteries of faith as idle and 
senseless jargon. Alas! how miserably dark 
and perverse must they be who think thus of 
that Gospel, which unites all the power and 
wisdom of God in it, After God has arranged 
all the parts of his plan, so as to make it the 
best which in his wisdom could be devised for 
the restoration of man, how pitiable their stu- 
pidity and ignorance to whom it is foolishness ! 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 299 



And, let us add, how miserable will be their 
end! because they not only are condemned 
already and the wrath of God abideth on them, 
but they incur tenfold danger : they not only 
remain without a remedy to their maladies, but 
have the guilt of rejecting it when offered to 
them. This is their danger, that there is always 
a stumbling-block in the way : the further they 
go, the nearer are they to their fall. They are 
always exposed to sudden, unexpected destruc- 
tion. They cannot foresee, one moment, whe- 
ther they shall stand or fall the next ; and when 
they do fall, they fall at once without warning. 
Their feet shall slide in due time. Just shame 
is it to the sons of men, that he whose delight it 
was to do them good, and who so loved them 
as to shed his blood for them, should have so 
many in the world to despise and reject his 
offers ; but thus is the Ancient Scripture ful- 
filled — The natural man receiveth not tlie things 
of the Spirit of God (lCor.ii. 14). 

Tremble at your state, all ye, that, from 
self-righteousness, or pride, or unwillingness 
to follow him in the regeneration, disregard 
Christ! Nothing keeps you one moment 
from perdition, but the mere sovereign plea- 
sure of God. Yet, suppose not that we 
take pleasure in contradicting your natural 
sentiments on religion, or in giving pain 



300 



FOURTEENTH SERMON. 



by forcing offensive truths upon your atten- 
tion — no ! as the ministers of joy and peace, 
we rise up at the command of God, to 
preach Christ Crucified to you all. He died for 
his bitterest enemies : therefore though ye have 
been Jews or Greeks, self-righteous, ignorant, 
or profane— though ye have presumed to call 
his truths in question, treated the Bible with 
contempt, or even chosen to prefer an Idol to 
the Saviour — yet return, at length, before you 
die, and God is willing to forgive you. 

How happy is the condition of those who 
obey the call of the Gospel ! Their hope 
being placed on that way of salvation which 
is the power and wisdom of God, on what a 
broad, firm basis doth it rest! Heaven and 
earth may pass away, though much of the 
power and wisdom of God was employed in 
erecting that fabric ; but the power and wisdom 
themselves of God, must be cut off from his 
immutable essence, and pass away, before one 
tittle of your hope can faiL Then rejoice, ye 
Children of Wisdom, by whom she is justified, 
Happy are your eyes for they see, and your ears 
for they hear; and the things which God 
hath hidden from the wise and prudent, he hath 
revealed unto you. Ye were righteous in 
your own esteem ; but ye count all things but 
ioss for the excellency of the knowledge <if 



THE PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 801 

Christ Jesus our Lord. Then be not ashamed 
of the Gospel of Christ, which is the power of 
God unto salvation unto every one that believeth; 
but continue to display its efficacy by the 
holiness of your lives, and live rejoicing in hope 
of the glory of God. 



SERMON XV. 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 



EPHES. II. ig — 22. 

Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and 
foreigners, but follow- citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of God; and are built 
upon the foundation of the Apostles and Pro- 
phets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
corner- stom ; in whom all the building fitly 
framed together groweth unto a holy temple 
in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded 
together for an habitation of God through the 
Spirit. 

" Happv are the men who can look back 
on their former lives, and, after comparing 
their past experience with the present, find 
substantial reasons for believing that they are 
passed from death unto Life." Lifted up though 
they be, as the needy from the dunghill, and 
set among princes, they are not unwilling to 
be reminded of their mean original. On the 
contrary, forasmuch as the remembrance of 



304 FIFTEENTH SERMON". 

it magnifies the riches of God's grace and 
endears the dying love of the Saviour, they 
find, on considering the blessed change, that 
their meditation of it may be sweet. When, 
therefore, the Apostle reminds his Ephesian 
Converts of their former misery, he is not 
to be considered as aiming so much to produce 
humiliation, as to awaken affection : he gives 
a clear and express representation of what 
Christ had done for them : they had been, as 
all the Gentiles were, without Christ, without 
God, without hope ; but now they were made 
nigh by the blood of Christ. Now therefore, 
he adds, ye, Gentiles, are no more strangers and 
foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of God; and are built 
upon the foundation of the Apostles and Pro- 
phets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
corner-stone. 

In these words, the society of true-believers 
is compared to a great building. To preserve 
this idea of the text distinct in our minds, it 
will be necessary to remember that the Church 
of God is sometimes compared to the human 
body, the head of which is Christ — sometimes, 
to a family over which he presides — sometimes, 
to a city — at other times, to Mount Zion; but, 
here, to a single building, which rests on Jesus 
Christ as its foundation. 



If- HE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 305 

In conformity to the Apostle's idea, we must 
call your attention, first, to the materials; 
secondly, to the foundation ; and, thirdly, 
to the building itself, 

I. The MATERIALS. 

Every stone, which is taken to construct a 
building, however it may have been polished 
by the hand of the workmen, was once rough 
and unsightly, and buried in the bowels of the 
earth : and ere yet we were called out to take 
our place in the building of God, that was our 
condition. This is the resemblance found for 
us by Isaiah — Look unto the rock whence ye are 
hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are 
digged (chap. li. 1) — there we once lay. As 
the rude stone not only belongs to the quarry, 
but forms a part of it ; so we were not only 
connected with the world, but ourselves con- 
stituted the world : so that when the saints 
were warned against the company and conver- 
sation of the world, we were some of the per- 
sons intended-— we were those enemies of God 
whose acquaintance would contaminate them. 

We could not have extricated ourselves from 
the world, any more than a stone can start from 
its parent rock without the application of ex- 
ternal force : we were so closely rivetted, as to 
baffle the strength of all but of Him who is 



806 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



mighty to save. He only was able to force us 
and the world asunder. 

Thus we lay with the world, in the same 
darkness ; like the rock buried beneath the 
surface of the earth : no ray of heaven illumined 
us ; but, year after year rolled away, and left 
us the same dark, inactive, unformed mass. 

While that state of things continued, we 
could manifestly not be applied either for use 
or ornament in the Church of God. Till every 
stone be cut and smoothed, they cannot be 
made to fit one another in a building : so we 
were unsuitable to the saints who compose the 
Church, and incapable of lasting union with 
them. 

Indeed, so far from desiring union with them, 
we felt indifference and dislike to them: we 
were, as the text declares, entirely strangers 
and foreigners among them. A person who 
comes as a stranger into a family, can be sup- 
posed to know nothing of its regulations and 
economy, nor participate the affection that sub- 
sists between the different branches of it : if he 
discourse with them, it is with cold and distant 
reserve, on subjects which are uninteresting to 
both ; and the reason is, that they know little 
about one another, and the persons whom they 
love and the things in which they have been 
conversant are altogether different. Thus we 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 307 



were strangers to the household of God. We 
knew, indeed, of them as of a company of per- 
sons who were distinguished by the superior 
strictness of their lives ; but never conceived 
that they formed one family, because we saw 
not the bond of union, nor perceived the Head 
under whom they were united : still less could 
we believe that it was a happy family, when 
their pursuits and employments were so dif- 
ferent from our own. In short, we were 
strangers to the communion of saints. 

And not only so, but we were foreigners. 
We had as little to do with the kingdom of 
God, as men in general have to do in a foreign 
country. We spoke another language : we 
were not governed by its laws : we did not 
acknowledge its sovereign: we submitted to 
none of its restrictions, and enjoyed none of its 
privileges : we were aliens from the common- 
wealth of Israel. 

But now, if we have become the servants of 
God, we are no more strangers and foreigners, 
but felloiv- citizens with the saints : we are come 
unto Mount Zion, the city of the Living God. 
" Once our guilt and corruption formed an in- 
surmountable barrier; but now having found 
Christ who is the only way to the Father, we 
have entered through the gates into the city, 
and become denizens of that city where light, 

x2 



308 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



and beauty, and grandeur, and safety, and plea- 
sure, meet together." We are partakers with 
the saints of the presence of their sovereign,- 
participate the safety which they find in his 
protection, and share the happiness which they 
enjoy under his government. Do their eyes 
behold the King in his beauty ? — we also have 
access to his palace. Is there a river, the 
streams whereof make glad the city of God ? — 
we also have tasted of the stream* and dwell in 
peaceful freedom on its banks. This is the 
happy state in which we are now in the king- 
dom of grace, before we ascend to the kingdom 
of glory. 

But we are not only fellow- citizens of the 
saints, we are of the household of God: we com- 
pose a part of his family, as well as live the 
subjects of his kingdom. It were a great ho^- 
nour to be like the Gibeonites, only drawers of 
water to that house, to which king David 
thought it so desirable to be a door-keeper. 
But, JBeloved, now are we the sons of God! 
What manner of love is this, says St. John, that 
we should be called the sons of God ? ( J John iii. 1 ) 
yet so it is ! If we have received Christ, to us 
hath he given power, or privilege, to become the 
Sons of God (John i. 12). Though we were 
not by natural birth the children of God, we 
have received a second nature— have been 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 309 



brought out from the world— have entered into 
his house — have been adopted, and become 
the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. 
We have been introduced to all the rights of 
children ; that is, we are made heirs of God y 
and joint-heirs with Christ : under Him, we all 
live — children of the same family— keeping the 
unity of the spirit in the bond of peaces—taught 
of God and led by his Spirit; and, forasmuch 
as it is promised, All thy children shall be taught 
of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy 
children (Is. liv. 13), so we enjoy the peace of 
God in our own hearts, and among one another. 
Notwithstanding a few partial and temporary 
disorders in our intercourse with one another, 
we can aver that the whole Church of God, like 
a happy family, is preserved in harmony and 
order: we form one body : we are animated by 
one Spirit : we have one hope, one faith, one 
Lord : we love as brethren, united under Christ 
as our elder brother, and under one God and 
Father of all, who is above all, and through all, 
and in us all. 

Now on comparing this our happy condition 
with our former, when we wandered to and fro 
as sons of the stranger ; on considering what a 
change we have undergone in temper, disposi- 
tion, and external state; on contrasting our 
condition in times past, with that which we 



310 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



now enjoy in the Church of God — we know no 
similitude more aptly representing us in both 
these conditions, than that contained in the 
text. We were as stones once lying in the 
earth ; but are now taken out and polished for 
a glorious building. 

II. We are next to consider the FOUNDATION 
which supports the building formed from these 
materials — Ye are built upon the foundation of 
the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief corner-stone. 

The Church is not built upon the Apostles 
and Prophets in their personal capacity. It 
is not to be supposed that these men were, in 
their own persons, able to sustain the weight of 
the Church of God : for who is Paul, and alio 
is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed? 
(1 Cor. hi. 5). Was Paul crucified for you? or 
were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (lCor. 
i. 13). Paul planted and Apollos tvatered; but 
neither is he that plant eth any thing, neither he 
that tvatereth (1 Cor. hi. 6, 7). There was no 
merit in the Apostles, which could serve for a 
foundation of hope to the sinner; for Peter 
confessed that he was a sinful man, and Paul 
that he was the chief of sinners : and though 
some may answer us that St. Peter had the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven given to him, it 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 311 

does not appear that he was commissioned to 
hold them longer than while he was upon earth ; 
for our Saviour's words are, Whatsoever thou 
shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; 
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall 
be loosed in heaven (Matt. xvi. 19). It cannot 
be said then that Peter, or any of the Apostles 
are, in their own persons, the support of the 
Church: and, indeed, how should they be? 
^Behold! he putteth no trust in his servants; 
and his angels he charged with folly: how much 
less in them that divell in houses of clay, whose 
foundation is in the dust! (Job iv. 18, 19). 
Nevertheless, the Scriptures have not hesitated 
to use, elsewhere, the same sort of language 
as in the passage before us: Christ said of 
Peter that on this rock he would build his 
Church (Matt. xvi. 1 8) ; alluding to the honour 
which he designed for Peter, namely, that he 
should be the first to preach the Gospel to the 
Jews, and the first also to preach it to the Gen- 
tiles: in the same manner it is said in the 
Revelation, that the wall of the city had twelve 
foundations, and in them the names of the twelve 
Apostles of the Lamb (Rev. xxi 14). So, in 
the text, the Apostles and Prophets are de- 
scribed as forming part of the foundation with 
Christ. 

But the true, and indeed the only sense, in 



312 



FIFTEENTH SERMON* 



which mere men can be said to bear part with 
Christ in the foundation of this spiritual build- 
ing, is this — that they are inspired by God to 
speak with such authority, that we may depend 
upon their word with as much confidence as 
upon the words which Christ himself spake. 
Such were the Apostles and Prophets: they 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; 
and their words, therefore, may be as fully be- 
lieved and trusted in, in matters of highest im- 
portance, as any of the sayings of Christ re- 
corded by the Evangelists. The prophecies of 
Isaiah, or the Epistles of St. Paul/ are of pre- 
cisely the same authority in directing our faith 
and regulating our practice, as Christ's Charge 
to his Disciples or his Sermon on the Mount, 
In this sense, Christ, and the Prophets, and the 
Apostles, were, in some sort, equally the foun- 
dation of the Church ; because they all declared 
from God, that system of Divine Truth upon 
which our faith and hope may rest. So far are 
we built upon the foundation of the Apostles 
and Prophets, for we have believed their tes-, 
timony. What Christ, and the Prophets, and 
Apostles revealed, of the different parts of the 
plan of salvation, we have believed; and have 
placed our hopes upon the truth of what they 
have spoken. 

Then how great are the privileges of believers ! 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 318 

—in this view only, how great are they ! — even 
in this simple particular, that we are built upon 
such a foundation as the one here described. 
For look round the habitable globe, and ob- 
serve how many millions among the Heathen, 
*n the present day and in former ages, never 
heard of the Apostles and Prophets, or one 
word of their testimony ; and how few even of 
those to whom the Gospel is preached ever be- 
lieve or obey it: infidels abound in Christian 
Lands, who account the whole a cunningly- 
devised fable : to many, God hath sent a strong 
delusion that they should believe a lie — to few, 
hath he given repentance to the acknowledg- 
ment of the truth ; the greater number of No- 
minal Christians go through the world, and die, 
without ever understanding or inquiring about 
those important truths, which it is such a pri- 
vilege to know. But ye are, many of you, a 
peculiar* people : the word of truth has not only 
sounded upon your ears, but God has given you 
grace to attend to it, and to find it the Gospel 
of your salvation. 

But that which is the chief excellency of 
our state is, that we not only depend upon the 
Word as revealing Jesus Christ, but by so 
doing we depend upon Jesus Christ as revealed 
in the Word : we are built upon that foundation, 
of which Jesus Christ himself is the chief 



314 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



corner-stone, not Jesus Christ's Word. He is the 
foundation of his Church in his own Person, and 
not by his Word only which he spake. He is 
himself the chief corner-stone : he not only 
declared the way of God in truth, but was him- 
self the way and the truth. In this capacity he 
stands alone, and bears up the pile of the spi- 
ritual building by his own strength. 

Jesus Christ is the elect and precious corner- 
stone which God hath laid in Zion: though he 
is one which the builders rejected, he is laid 
for this purpose, that every trembling sinner 
who feels his own weakness and inability to 
stand alone before God, either on the score of 
merit or innate holiness, may come to it, and 
let all the weight of his salvation rest entirely 
upon it. He is permitted to depend upon the 
merits of Christ for his pardon and acceptance 
with God, and may expect to find in him all 
necessary grace and strength. He, that be- 
lieveth in him, shall not be confounded. To him 
many have come, for he is a tried stone, and 
are builded together ; and find him to be, not 
only the ground for their security, but also, as 
the corner-stone is in a building, the bond of 
their union. To him ye have come, and on him 
are ye built. 

Then consider how peculiar is your privilege, 
Beloved, in this respect. Though it is contained 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 815 

in the Scriptures that other foundation can no 
man lay, than that is laid, ivhich is Jesus Christ 
(1 Cor. iii. 1 1); that is, no foundation on which 
we can safely be built except him : yet mankind 
are ever rearing then' respective superstructures 
on a different foundation : some build upon the 
presumptuous hopes of God's mercy; expecting 
to see the Lord without holiness : others are 
raising a fair fabric on the ground of their own 
righteousness : others are pleasing themselves 
with a motley building, which they have raised 
on two foundations, Christ and their own works : 
all which may stand for a while, and make a 
fair shew during the momentary calm of God's 
forbearance; but will instantly crumble into 
dust, when his breath shall blow upon them. 
Now where so many are wrong and so few are 
right, how happy your lot to be in the latter 
number, by having found the true foundation ! 
How great is your privilege, who have been 
taught to perceive that stone to be precious, 
which to others is a stone of stumbling, and a 
rock of offence ; even to them which stumble at 
the tvord, being disobedient/ (1 Pet. ii. 8). 

III. How glorious is now your condition 
upon this foundation, will appear when we 
consider, in the third place, the edifice or 
BUILDING itself. —/ft whom the whole building 



816 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple 
in the Lord. 

The model of the glorious edifice has existed 
from everlasting, in the mind of its great Archi- 
tect ; and, in conformity to that model, the 
building rises. 

1. Let us, first, observe the building, as the 

WORK GOES ON. 

In that part of it which is already to be seen, 
observe how fitly each stone is suited to its 
place. As in the members of the human body, 
if they were all one member, where were the 
body ? so in this building, if all the stones were 
equal in size, polish, and shape, where were the 
building ? But now it is so ordered, that some 
shall form the broad base of a pillar, others the 
long shafts, others the ornamented capital : an- 
other shall be of use to turn an arch, another be 
a key-stone : this shall be found in the cornice, 
and another in the ceiling : but they all have 
their use, in their respective places ; and other 
arrangements would destroy the beauty and 
symmetry of the building. Those lively stones, 
which are intended rather for strength than orna- 
ment, need not so much polishing ; while others, 
which are designed for a conspicuous part in 
the building, suffer the strokes of God's heavy 
hand, and have their roughnesses worn away by 
affliction, because they are to become the 



THF. CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 317 

polished comers of the temple. Thus unto 
every one of us is given grace according to the 
measure of the gift of Christ. He gave some to 
be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, 
evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers : for 
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ 
(Eph. iv. 7, 11, 12). 

2. Having now surveyed the contrivance and 
arrangement of the parts of the spiritual build- 
ing, mark next its gradual growth. 

From the day that the first stone was laid in 
the superstructure at the conversion of our first 
parents, another and another has been added, 
and the building has been rising from generation 
to generation. Persons of all ages, sexes, and 
conditions, have been taken from the world, and 
fitted one to another in it. Young and old, rich 
and poor, have been added to the Church, in 
every different age ; and though the work goes 
on with different degrees of rapidity at different 
times, God is always employed in it. 

At the present moment, it is still rising: some 
stones are under the workmen's hand — others 
are fixed in their places in the Church. At this 
day, more than in ancient times, men of all 
nations and kindreds and people and tongues, 
English, Americans, Danes, Africans, Hin- 
doos, Hottentots, Mohawks — millions, who have 
never seen one another in the flesh, are vet 



318 



FIFTEENTH SERMON, 



built up together, and united in one corner- 
stone, the Lord Jesus Christ! Behold, these 
shall come from far ; and lo, these from the north 
and from the ivest, and these from the land of 
Sinim (Is. xlix. 12). 

Thus it goes on, steadily indeed, but silently : 
for like that temple which was the type of it, 
there is neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of 
iron heard in the house while it is in building 
(1 Kings vi. 7). The kingdom of God cometh 
not with observation ; and so, though the build- 
ing of this Temple is" God's one great concern, 
and that for which he suffers the earth to stand 
and keeps the wheels of providence in motion, 
it makes little noise in the world : very few of 
mankind ever hear there is such a building 
going on. 

But He, that hath built his stones in the 
heaven, worketh in it hitherto, and will 
work to the end of time ; and, in future ages, 
out of thousands yet unborn, will increase the 
greatness of the structure. The zeal of the 
Lord of Hosts will do this, though its progress is 
slow at present. He, the Lord, tvill hasten it in 
its time. Swiftly shall it rise, and rear its ma- 
jestic height to the praise of the glory of his 
grace, while the happy workmen shall gladly 
pursue their labour; till, at last, they shall 
bring forth the head-stone thereof ivith shoutings, 
crying, Grace, Grace, unto it ! (Zech. iv. 7). 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING, 319 

3. In order to describe our privileges still 
further, according to the design of the Holy 
Spirit in the text, let us anticipate the 

FINISHING OF THE TEMPLE. 

Suppose, then, the period arrived, when the 
scaffolding is struck down and the rubbish 
moved away : that is, suppose this earth which 
was the stage for its erection, now removed 
from beneath it, and the wicked, the refuse of 
mankind, cast far away out of sight. Conceive 
that you see nothing but the building. Lo! it 
stands high in view, for the admiration of the 
surrounding universe. Walk about Zion, and 
go round about her: tell the towers thereof: 
mark ye well her bidwarks: consider her pa- 
laces — that ye may tell it to the generation follow- 
ing (Ps. xlviii.12,13). What is her foundation? 
The rock of ages ! Who is her inhabitant ? — 
her inhabitant is God! Not a flaw, not a 
blemish is to be seen: every stone is in its 
proper place ; and all contributing to the beauty 
of the whole ! No want of symmetry in the 
general outline and plan — nothing imperfect in 
the execution of each part. Behold it stands 
an eternal monument, to the glory of God, of 
his power, and wisdom, and grace ! It is all 
bright and glorious, wherever you take your 
view of it — radiating in every part with the 
beamings of divine glory! Her light is like 



320 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper! 
It is a Temple of souls ! every stone is a living 
soul, a blood-bought spirit! Every one is a 
chosen warrior, who has fought his battle in his 
days, and has conquered ! They have come 
out of great tribulation to be stones for this 
building ! Affliction gave them their polish ; 
and the cement which unites them is love ! 

But while we admire its beauty, let not the 
suspicion arise, that any thing should happen to 
mar its form or impair its glory. Earthly 
fabrics have, indeed, every thing to fear from 
the effects of inclement skies : for they must 
all, in their turn, become like those ancient 
cities, where thorns come up in the palaces; 
nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof — 
where the mouldering arches and half-remain- 
ing walls shew the devastating hand of time. 
But our Zion hath nought to fear from time, for 
time ceases when her glory begins : and though 
she must be exposed to the storm and beating 
of the rain, during the dark watches of the night ; 
yet when the morning of the resurrection 
cometh, it will be as clear sunshine after rain, 
even a morning without clouds (2 Sam xxiii. 4). 
As she shall suffer by no natural causes of dis- 
solution, so neither shall she fall by hostile 
violence. It was truly said by Christ to those 
who spoke of the Temple at Jerusalem, how it 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL EUILDING. 321 



was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, that 
the day should come upon her when one stone 
should not be left upon another, which should 
not T)e thrown down : but it shall not be so 
with our spiritual temple. Even now we may 
ask, Why do the heathen rage, and the people 
imagine a vain thing ? Even now we may look 
at her foundation and ask, 

" What shall shake thy sure repose ?" 

Resting on him, she mocks the assaults of 
besiegers, even in her weakness : but when the 
day of her perfection is come, the very sound of 
the shoutings of her enemies can be heard no 
more. Satan and his agents must first break 
through their chains of darkness, ere they can 
again plant their engines against her. In 
righteousness shalt thou be established: thoi6 
shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not 
fear ; and from terror, for it shall not come neai 
thee (Is. liv. 14). 

And now let us CLOSE our subject, in which 
we have set before you the privileges which 
belong to true believers ; while we have consi- 
dered the Materials of the edifice, the Founda- 
tion, and the Building itself. 

1. The persons whom we have been imme- 
diately addressing are the people of God : but 
as it is hardly to be believed that you are all of 



322 



FIFTEENTH SERMON, 



this number, let us, in the first part of our appli- 
cation, make an inquiry. 

And, here, the question should not be, Have 
you ceased to associate with the world, and 
written down your name among those who 
profess to be living for another world ? but, Are 
you really a fellow-citizen with the saints ?— 
not merely connected with them in their pas- 
sage through this world, but owned by the king 
of the country whither they are travelling ? Do 
you shew that you are not mindful of the 
country from whence you say you are come 
out ? — that you are not seeking it again, nor 
entangling yourself with its affairs ? — that you 
are looking for a city which hath foundations ; 
a better country, that is, a heavenly one? 
There is much greater reason for supposing 
yourselves fellow-citizens with sinners, if you 
are like them in your spirit, than there is for 
supposing yourselves fellow-citizens with the 
saints, because at other times you are like them. 

It is further to be asked, Are you of the 
household of God ? — are you the sons of God ? 
If it be asked, " How can this be known ?" we 
reply, in the words of St. Paul, As many as are 
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of 
God (Rom, viii. 14). Are you changed from 
glory to glory, as by that Spirit ? Do you, con- 
scious of your high birth and inheritance of 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 323 

glory, disdain to be conformed to the children 
of darkness ? and, shewing no desire after this 
world nor inordinate concern about it, are you 
spiritually minded, and influenced by spiritual 
motives ? 

Again, have ye not only received Christ Jesus 
the Lord as the foundation of your hopes, but 
do ye so walk in him, rooted and grounded in 
him, established in the faith? Is your life a 
life of faith in him ? Do you look to him for 
grace and strength to perform every duty ? Do 
you seek real communion with him in secret, 
and are you grieved if he is absent? Do you 
strive to set the Lord always before you, and 
to frame and fashion your lives after his exam- 
ple? Are your souls emblems of the great 
temple of the Church — a holy temple in the 
Lord — habitations of God through the Spirit? 

2. If these evidences of your being built up 
in Christ be in the general wanting, you must 
be considered as belonging to those strangers 
and foreigners with whom we are about, in the 
second place, to remonstrate. 

The edifice, which you have heard de- 
scribed, is not a castle in the air : it hath an 
existence more real far than any that you see : 
and, what is more, every man that is saved 
must come and be built upon it. All others will 

y2 



824 FIFTEENTH SERMON* 

be swept away as rubbish with the besom of 
destruction, and be burnt up with the earth in 
which they lie. Brethren, do not the glories of 
the edifice kindle some little desire to belong 
to it ? Then come and prepare for it ! You are 
not, like the rock in the quarry, free from blame 
if you are never separated from the earth ; for 
nothing is wanting but your own consent. Be 
willing, then, to leave your natural state : put 
yourselves into the hands of the workman, that 
he may in any wise fit you for some place in the 
building. If it be not done here, it cannot be 
hereafter: for when the temple is finished, 
another stone cannot be inserted without 
destroying its beauty and strength, or building 
it all anew. 

3. Lastly, let us congratulate those whom 
we can address in the Apostle's own words ; 
those who, however weak and fearful, are 
making it the business of their lives to be edified 
in the Church of Christ. 

Though you are afflicted with fightings with- 
out and fears within, and in heaviness through 
manifold temptations, these things are only pre- 
paring you for your place in the building : the 
more the stone suffers the strokes of the chisel 
and the hammer, the finer will be its polish : the 
more you are afflicted, the more conspicuous 



THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL BUILDING. 325 

your place in the building ; and far more ex- 
ceeding will be your glory. Happy, thrice 
happy are ye, Sons of God! — loved with an 
everlasting love—brought into being precisely 
at the time when the building had reached your 
destined place — separated from the world by a 
strong hand and stretched-out arm — and fixed 
immoveably in your place where you are to 
shine for ever and ever. Who ! O who is like 
unto thee, O people saved by the Lord ? The eter- 
nal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the ever- 
lasting arms. Israel shall dwell in safety alone : 
his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy art 
thou, O Israel f ivho is like unto thee f O people, 
saved by the Lord! (Deut, xxxiii. 27 — 29). 

Admire the displayed perfections — the ful- 
filled promises — the endearing relations of the 
Most High ! Awake ! and utter the Song of 
Moses and of the Lamb. Since the Lord hath 
brought us through fire and water to a goodly 
heritage— since he hath brought us out of a 
fearful pit, and out of the miry clay, and with 
tender care and unceasing love builds us up in 
his holy temple — let us believe his mighty works 
and sing his praise ! Let there be a new song 
in our hearts and in our mouth, even praises to 
our God ! Let our meditation of these things be 
sweet 5 and let our souls, which he hath re- 



326 



FIFTEENTH SERMON. 



deemed, rejoice in God our only Lord ! 
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who 
only doeth ivondrous things ; and blessed be his 
glorious name for ever ; and let the whole earth 
be filled with his glory ! Amen, and Amen. 



SERMON XVI. 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 



ACTS Xvi. 2Q—31. 

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and 
came trembling, and fell down before Paul 
and Silas ; and brought them out, and said, 
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they 
said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved. 

If there were any subject of religion in which 
it were pardonable for us to amuse you with 
speculations, or if there were any truths con- 
nected with your spiritual interests to which 
you might reasonably be inattentive ; yet cer- 
tain it is, that the truth contained in the words 
which we have read to you is not one of them. 
For here we find a question proposed of such 
awful magnitude, that, in comparison of it, all 
other inquiries sink into insignificance. It is 
not here asked, as in a case of great doubtful- 
ness and uncertainty, What is the will of God 
and the path of duty ? It is not inquired ? What 



328 SIXTEENTH SERMON. 

is the precise nature of salvation ? or, What the 
extent of man's power to obtain it ? but simply 
that great critical question, with which all 
others of a religious nature are more or less con- 
nected, What must I do to be saved? 

Not to anticipate any future observations 
which we may make on the importance of this 
question, let it be sufficient to observe, that if 
there be in man a spiritual part which survives 
his body — if there be a God w ho shall call 
that spirit into judgment — if there be, to say 
the least, a possibility of its being consigned to 
misery — then it becomes us, as reasonable 
men, to regard the subject of our text as en- 
titled to our most attentive meditation. 

The words naturally lead us to consider, 
first, the jailer's question; and, secondly, 
the apostle's answer. 

I. The circumstances which led to this 
QUESTION are related in the foregoing context. 

Paul and Silas were now at Philippi, a city 
of Macedonia : not the chief city, for that was 
Thessaloniea; but the first which they would 
meet with in their way from Neapolis. Here 
they soon met with persecution; occasioned 
chiefly by Paul's having cast out a spirit of 
divination from a damsel, who brought her 
masters much gain by soothsaying. The mas- 
ters, enraged at their loss, excited the popular 



THE TREMBLING JAILLIi. 329 

clamour against the Apostles: and the magis- 
trates rent off' their clothes, and commanded to 
beat them. And when they had laid many stripes 
upon them, they cast them into prison, charging 
the jailer to keep them safely; who, having 
received stich a charge, thrust them into the 
inner prison, and made their feet fast in the 
stocks (vv. 22—24). 

From this narrative it should seem that the 
jailer himself was a persecutor, as well as the 
instrument of persecuting malice; for the ex- 
pressions of thrusting them, and into the inner 
prison, and of making their feet fast in the 
stocks, make it very probable that much un- 
necessary severity was used. 

But no bodily suffering could deprive them 
of their inward enjoyments: these strangers 
intermeddled not with their joy ; for when men 
have wreaked all their fury on the body, after 
that they have nothing that they can do. 
Neither the thick wall nor bolted gates could 
hinder the passage of the heavenly dove to 
them : they received the visits of the Comforter ; 
and found God their Maker, who giveth songs 
in the night. At midnight, when most of their 
fellow-creatures were taking their repose, these 
Holy Apostles were prevented, by the pain of 
their lacerated flesh, the uneasy position of 
their bodies, and probably by the noisomeness 



1 



330 SIXTEENTH SERMON. 

of the place, from enjoying sleep or rest. But 
how did they pass away the dark watches of 
the night?— not in sighs, but in songs ; imitating 
therein the example of David, who, when he 
was overwhelmed with trouble, could say, in 
the confidence of hope, In the night, his song 
shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of 
my life (Ps. xlii. 8). At midnight Paul and Silas 
prayed, and sang praises unto God — rejoicing, 
with the rest of the Apostles, that they were 
counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of 
Jesus. It had not often happened that the 
Songs of Zion were heard within the precints of 
a Heathen Prison ; and the novelty of the sound 
seems to have excited no small surprise in the 
rest of the prisoners, for it is particularly men- 
tioned that the prisoners heard them. 

The prison no w exhibited a most striking as- 
semblage of remarkable circumstances. The 
stillness of the hour, the silent attention of the 
prisoners in their respective cells, the cheerful 
notes of divine melody in a place where the 
walls had hitherto echoed only with groans, 
must have presented a very solemn scene. 

The Jailer, who was soon to become a very 
prominent person in the history, was now fast 
asleep. While the song of thanksgiving was thus 
ascending from the dungeon, there was one 
above who heard not their praises only, but 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 331 

listened to the voice of their cry ; and now He 
was about to make bare his holy arm, and to 
cause the lighting down of it to be seen — now 
God was about to say to his enemies, Touch not 
mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm 
(Ps.cv. ] 5). Suddenly the earth shook beneath 
the foundations of the prison — the walls of the 
fabric tottered, as about to tumble into ruins — 
the ground trembled at the touch of the Al- 
mighty's finger — the massy gates flew open, of 
their own accord, before God — and the bands 
of the prisoners no longer retained their hold in 
his presence. By this time, the Jailer was roused 
from his sleep : but seems to have felt as yet 
no fear with respect to his eternal salvation ; for, 
on seeing the prison doors open, he instantly 
seized his sword, and was about to plunge into 
eternity — a sufficient proof that he was unpre- 
pared to go into it. Paul and Silas alone stood 
undisturbed. This awful display of Divine 
Power did not terrify them, because they knew 
that the God of Nature was their friend . Seeing 
the rash act which the man was about to per- 
petrate, Paul cried out, with a loud voice, as- 
suring him that none of them had escaped. 
Then it was that he seems to have been con- 
vinced that these were servants of the Most 
High God; and the thoughts of the future judg- 
ment which they had been preaching, and the 



332 



SIXTEENTH SERMON. 



consciousness of his own sins, crowded at once 
upon his mind. Then he called for a light, and 
sprang in, and came trembling. 

The question of the Jailer seems to express 
three things, in each of which we shall endea- 
vour to point out what is your duty, and shall 
exhort you to it. It expresses, first, a desire 
to be informed on the way of salvation ; 
secondly, a determination to comply with the 
conditions ; and, thirdly, an earnestness suited 
to the importance of the case. 

1. You should seek to be informed about 
the way of salvation. 

That men do not generally make such in- 
quiry is a melancholy fact, which we shall not 
have much difficulty in proving ; for, wherever 
we have occasion to observe the crowd of men, 
they may be seen ranging through the world, 
as bees from flower to flower, examining busily 
into the state and nature of things, in quest of 
gain and science, while this question alone is 
forgotten : and the reason is, that they are not 
aware of their ignorance in this matter. They 
suppose, almost universally, that it is only to 
turn away from evil courses to a life of some- 
what greater strictness, and salvation is secured ; 
and, with these vague, confused, indistinct no- 
tions, they remain satisfied. If they be reminded 
of the justice of God requiring an atonement 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 333 

for past sin, as well as the necessity of abstain- 
ing from sin in future, and of the necessity of 
regeneration, and other things of this nature — 
if the difficulties lying in the way of a sinner's 
justification be stated to them ; and the appa- 
rent obstacles pointed out, whether arising from 
God or ourselves — they have no curiosity to 
know more of the truth ; but, if pressed to a 
conviction, decline all further prosecution of 
the subject. We beseech you to have done 
with this perverse continuing in ignorance — 
that even if you are determined to remain in 
sin for some time longer (for that, in fact, is 
the case), you may at least have an understand- 
ing of the way of salvation — that, at some future 
time, when God's terrors are more powerfully 
in your mind, you may be at no loss to know 
what steps are to be taken, or what course to be 
followed in order to be saved. 

Prudence, then, dictates the necessity which 
lies on all men, of at least making the simple 
inquiry in the text : yet prudence seems to be 
entirely disregarded. The Philosopher who 
professes to be engaged in the investigation of 
truth, or the Scholar who can discover new 
beauties in the pages of heathen classical lite- 
rature by his powers of criticism, are disposed 
to leave this question to the consideration of 
vulgar minds : the Tradesman has no time for 



834 



SIXTEENTH SERMON. 



acquainting himself accurately with the way of 
salvation ; but leaves it to the Clergy, whose 
business it is to consider it: the Poor Man ex- 
cuses himself from learning the way to be saved, 
because he has never been taught to read, or 
has no faculties or opportunity for learning. 
But to these and all other persons, we offer the 
forementioned arguments of prudence : for the 
time will come to the Scholar, when his read- 
ing must be at an end and his books put up ; 
and then his taste and his learning and refine- 
ment will but poorly supply the want of the 
knowledge of the way of salvation : the time is 
coming to the Tradesman, when his accounts 
must close and his speculations be over ; and 
then it will be of little consequence for him to 
know how a fortune is to be raised, if he does 
not know how the soul may be saved : and, to 
the Poor Man, the hour is hastening, when he 
will find it very hard to understand the nature 
of that Gospel, of which he learnt nothing in 
the course of his former life. 

This, then, is plainly a duty incumbent on us 
as rational creatures, to make ourselves ac- 
quainted with the way in which men are to be 
saved. 

2. Having now considered the Jailer's ques- 
tion in one point of view, namely, as containing 
an Inquiry into the Way of Salvation, we pro- 



i 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 335 

ceed to shew from it, in the second place, that 
there must be a determination to comply 

WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALVATION. 

It is possible, nay it is very common, for 
men to dispute, and with no small earnestness, 
on certain questions which are called religious, 
but which have no sort of reference to them- 
selves : for instance, they inquire, whether any 
of the Heathen can be saved, and in what man- 
ner ; but not whether they themselves are in a 
state of salvation : such was the question asked 
by the disciples of Christ — Lord, are there many 
that be saved? But how much more wisely did 
the Jailer ask, What must I do to be saved ? 

Selfishness^ in all other cases, is one of the 
most remarkable traits in the character of 
fallen man : it is obtruded upon our notice in 
all the dealings which we have with one an- 
other. Every question is interesting exactly in 
that degree in which it affects ourselves : this 
question, alone, we prefer to hear discussed in 
a general and abstracted manner; and the 
reason is this, that if this question come near to 
ourselves, we are afraid of certain painful con- 
ditions. But this was not the mind of the 
Jailer. When he asked, What must / do? he 
foresaw that the answer, with all its conse- 
quences, belonged to himself as much as the 
question did ; nevertheless he did not hesitate 



386 SIXTEENTH SERMON". 

to put the question in this form to one, who, he 
knew, would keep back none of the truth. 
Brethren, why should you speak or think of 
these things only in a general way ? why not 
apply your knowledge to a practical purpose ? 
why not turn the edge of your arguments upon 
yourselves ? Do you suppose that God loves 
you in the crowd of mankind, because you 
love yourself in it ? and when you die will you 
not die alone ? Then inquire, in simplicity and 
integrity of heart, as one who is alone with God, 
What must I do ? and thus shew your readiness 
to comply with the conditions. 

Another proof of the sincerity and willing- 
ness of the Jailer to submit to any duty that 
might be imposed upon him was this — that he 
asked, What must I do? He therefore sup- 
posed there was something for him to do ; and, 
at the same time, his question proves that he 
resolved to do it. In the same manner do you 
ask the question: desire not to be told that 
you need only to believe this or that particular 
doctrine, and that then you may go away pri- 
vileged by your orthodox creed and enjoy the 
world : seek not for allowances to be made to 
you on the score of your habits of self-indul- 
gence ; but stand ready, with the arm of re- 
solution uplifted, to cut off the right hand, 
instantly, as God demands it. Do not desire 



THE TREMBLING JAILER, 337 

that the narrow way should be filled up, or the 
strait gate shut, and another path more smooth 
and flowery should be found for you, other than 
the saints have trodden: but rather consider 
with yourselves, that Christ has said, Whosoever 
he he, that for sake th not all that he hath, he 
cannot be my disciple (Luke xiv. 33). Reason 
the case thus with yourselves— What shall it 
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole worlds 
and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give 
in exchange for his soul? (Matt. viii. 36, 37). 

3. Having thus confirmed your resolutions, 
by sound argument and reasoning founded on 
Scripture Truth, then say, with calm deliberation 
and firmness, " Only let it be made known to 
me what is to be done for salvation ; and that, 
if helped from above, will I do." 

Observe the earnestness of the Jailer. See 
how it is marked in every gesture. He sprang 
in — and came trembling — and fell down. See 
also how it is heard in every word of his 
quick, short, rapid question — Sirs 1 what must 
I do to be saved ? He flew as if the earth- 
quake had caused the ground to cleave asunder 
behind him — so clearly did he perceive his 
danger. 

Must I tell you that you ought to be 
earnest? — you, men of reason, men of sense! 
Carelessness in the business of salvation ! what 

z 



338 



SIXTEENTH SERMON. 



i& it ?— -it is not folly, but madness ! — it is not 
sleep : it is death ! 

To describe the earnestness with which this 
question should be asked, is beyond the power 
of words : but— to compare great things with 
small — look at the trembling wretch, who, 
having lost his footing on firm ground, is falling 
lower and lower, the sandy earth giving way 
under his feet, and he catching at every tuft of 
grass in his way, yet just reaching the edge of 
the precipice whence he will fall headlong into 
the roaring gulph below ! Or watch the man, 
who, having been shipwrecked on a stormy 
ocean, has more than once sunk beneath the 
wave, but is now sinking to rise no more ! hear 
him cry, What shall I do to be saved ? 

And do we ask for Motives to be earnest in 
religion, where there is every thing to call forth 
all the energies of the soul ? — where the argu- 
ments, like the wheels of God's chariot, are 
so high that they are dreadful ? — where the 
motives to impel to action or to affect the pas- 
sions, are so clear, so full, so strong, as to 
stretch every faculty of the soul to a painful 
extent, and make it ready to burst its tenement 
and soar away ? 

The weapons, which God has permitted his 
messengers to take from the armoury of heaven, 
are endued with such unknown but awful 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 



339 



power, that they may well tremble when they 
use them. They have to do, not with the body 
of man, but the mind, the immortal spirit ; and 
their instruments of action are suitable : they 
wield a sword which is quick and powerful, 
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing 
even to the dividing asunder of soid and spirit 
(Heb. iv. 12). Happiness or misery, in life, in 
death, and at the resurrection, are among the 
smaller motives which we can use to excite to 
earnestness : we may speak to you of an 
infinite and eternal God, who commands you 
to be earnest: we can point to glory everlasting 
as the reward, and an eternal hell as the punish- 
ment. But these topics we forbear to enlarge 
upon, but rather leave it to yourselves to con- 
sider what force they ought to have to rouse 
you and me to earnestness. 

II. We shall, therefore, now pass on from 
the Jailer's Question to the Apostle's ANSWER. 

Notwithstanding its simplicity, a great variety 
of answers have been given to the question in 
all ages. What shall I do to be saved? 

Some say, " Do? — do nothing :" this would 
hardly satisfy the Jailer, or any one else who 
felt himself an accountable creature. 

Others say, " Do ? — do every thing : fear 
God and keep his commandments :" this would 



340 



SIXTEENTH SERMON, 



be but an unsatisfying direction to any one wh(> 
was conscious of past sin, which needed 
pardon ; and who was also but too certain that 
he should still continue to offend God and 
break his commandments — besides that he 
reads, By the works of the law shall no flesh be 
justified (Gal. ii. 16). 

A third description of persons would reply 
to the inquiring penitent in this manner — " You 
have been baptized, and believe, too, the truth 
of Christianity and the divinity of Christ; now 
you must take care to live in the exercise of 
good works." What possible relief could this 
give to his mind ? He might be told, indeed, 
that, if he continued obedient, his past sins 
would be forgiven ; that is, they shall be for- 
given at the last day: but this, of course, could 
afford no present peace. His next concern, 
therefore, would be, to inquire about these 
good works, by which he was to obtain pardon : 
he would naturally ask, how much were neces- 
sary for this purpose: if they answer, ■ 1 Do as 
much as you are able," then, if this be true, if 
none can be saved but those who do as much 
as they are able, all mankind must perish ; for 
no one does as much as he is able. They will 
then explain themselves, by calling it a sincere, 
though imperfect obedience : to this we observe, 
that, since the degree of necessary obedience 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 341 

is not defined, it follows, that, in a large body 
of baptized persons — as, for instance, all the 
people of Christendom— there will be all pos- 
sible degrees of obedience ; and, consequently, 
wherever the line be drawn between the right- 
eous and the wicked, there can be but the 
least possible difference between the worst 
of the righteous and the best of the wicked ; 
whereas, in Scripture, the terms applied to the 
persons on either side of the line are, Light 
and Darkness, Life and Death, &c : and, in 
the eternal state, there is a great gulf fixed 
between them ; and they go on, diverging farther 
and farther from one another. Yet this System 
of Divinity, so contradictory to Scripture, is the 
favourite of the present day ; and is adopted by 
most who are strangers to their guilt and corrup- 
tion, and therefore confound Law and Gospel. 

In opposition to all these errors, we glory in 
saying with the Apostle, to every one who 
knows any thing of the spirit of the trembling 
Jailer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved. 

But, here, to prevent mistakes and anticipate 
objections, we must observe, that different an- 
swers have been given to this same question 
in other parts of the New Testament : and the 
reason of this is obvious ; for the answers were 
suited to the different states of those to whom 



342 



SIXTEENTH SERMON. 



they were given. Thus, when the publicans 
and soldiers asked John the Baptist- what they 
were to do, he told them to leave off their 
iniquitous practices : for, in that dim dawn of 
the Gospel Day, it was as much as they could 
bear ; and if they were sincere and followed 
his injunctions, they would then be prepared 
for further instructions. When the rich young 
man asked our Saviour what good thing he 
must do to inherit eternal life, he was told, If 
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments 
(Matt. xix. 17). If thou wilt enter into life, the 
first thing to be done is, to keep the command- 
ments, as far as you know them. When you 
shew the sincerity of your heart by serving 
God according to your knowledge, you shall 
then receive further insight into the way of 
salvation. 

It is evident, also, that the disciples them- 
selves did not preach the way of salvation by 
Christ's blood during his life-time, because 
they did not fully understand it themselves; 
but only said, Repent ye, for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. But, at this time, the Go- 
spel was clearly understood, and the Jailer was 
in a state of mind to receive the whole light of 
it ; and, therefore, St. Paul said to him, Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be 
saved. 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 343 

•St. Paul, who spake the Word of the Lord 
to him, would tell him, that his fears were well 
founded ; for that he was condemned by the 
law of conscience, and with all the rest of the 
world was guilty before God. He would* 
moreover, tell him that God, though One, 
existed in Three Persons, the Second of whom, 
the Son of God, had just appeared in the flesh, 
according to prophecy, and voluntarily suffered 
death for our sins, and had risen from the grave, 
proving his divine mission ; that now, therefore, 
God had declared that he would freely pardon 
and save all those, who, convinced of their 
guilt and willing to turn away from sin, would 
plead the merits of this Saviour, and depend 
entirely upon him for salvation. 

This Gospel we preach to you, The efficacy 
of Christ's atonement extends throughout all 
ages. You, therefore, who are asking, in the 
same mind as that of the Jailer, what you must 
do to be saved, hear the glad tidings of the 
Gospel — Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved. Believe God's testimony 
concerning him, rest upon him simply for 
pardon and peace, and you shall be saved. He, 
that believeth on me, shall not come into con- 
demnation, but is passed from death unto life 
(John v. 24). If it had been said that you shall 
be pardoned, it were much more than carnal 



344 SIXTEENTH SERMON. 

reasoners would be willing to allow ; because 
they hold that a life spent in good works is 
necessary before we can be pardoned. But 
more than pardon is promised : it is said, thou 
shalt be saved — thou shalt not only be instantly 
pardoned on believing, but shalt receive from 
Christ his Spirit, to save thee from the power 
of sin and the danger of a corrupt heart, which 
would infallibly lead thee again to ruin ; but 
which that Spirit shall so influence as that thou 
shalt never, never fall away : for this is the 
nature of the everlasting covenant, in which 
God hath promised, jT will not turn away from 
them to do them good ; but I will put my fear in 
their hearts, that they shall not depart from 
me (Jer. xxxii. 40). 

Having now come to the close of our subject, 
we shall CONCLUDE with addressing three de- 
scriptions of persons : first, those who know 
nothing of this salvation ; secondly, those who 
suppose that they know it, but are yet in igno- 
rance ; and, lastly, those who know it indeed. 

1. To those who know nothing of these 

THINGS. 

The Jailer was awakened from his sleep by 
an earthquake ; and was compelled, by the 
terrors of God, to cry out, in the agony of a 
troubled spirit, What must I do f Would that 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 345 

I were able to raise such a storm of terror, as 
effectually to alarm you ! but we can only fore- 
warn you of what will come to pass. Most of 
you, I fear, will go away, somewhat impressed 
perhaps with our subject ; but, looking forward 
with satisfaction to the business of to-morrow 
or the pleasures of the next day, will expel the 
momentary gloom from your thoughts : but be 
assured concerning our words, that to-morrow, 
and the next day, and every day, as it brings 
you nearer to eternity, increases the awfulness 
of the warnings of God, though delivered by 
weak men ; till, in the world to come, they shall 
be heard repeated by the voice of God 
Almighty, and fulfilled to your perdition. Then 
take heed, Men and Brethren, how ye hear ! 
and believe us w hen we say, that if you neglect 
to cry for mercy now, you may expect, on your 
death-bed, ivhen your fear cometh as desolation, 
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, 
when distress and anguish cometh upon you, that 
Christ will say of you, Now they call upon me, 
but I will not answer : they seek me early, but 
they shall not find me (Prov. i. 27, 28). While 
you are yet in this world, the Lord Jesus is 
invested in the glory of grace; and mercy and 
peace are the attendants of his throne : still he 
continues to hold out his right hand to sinners, 
till he shall lift it up to heaven and swear that 



346 



SIXTEENTH SERMON. 



time shall be no more : then, not the ground 
shall tremble, or a single building be shaken, 
but the foundations of the round world shall 
be discovered : when its flaming walls shall 
give way at his rebuke, the pillars of the uni- 
verse shall totter to their basis, and the whole 
sink into universal ruin : then you will cry, 
What shall I do f but there will be no answer — 
you will call to the rocks to fall on you, but 
they will not hear. Then stir up yourselves to 
the belief of these things, and flee from the 
wrath to come. 

2. Let us address those who suppose that 

THEY BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, BUT 
ARE MISTAKEN. 

To you, it appears an easy thing to believe ; 
and yet your faith, such as it is, gives you but 
little pleasure, little profit. And the reason is, 
that you have never repented* Alas! how many 
professors of the Gospel are deceived in this 
particular ! having continually heard that sal- 
vation is by faith, they adopt this doctrine as 
their own ; but their hearts were never broken — 
they never fled, as for their life, to Jesus Christ : 
and though they thus profess to rest upon him, 
their lives are as unfruitful as their hearts are 
hard: they are sometimes assaulted with fears, 
which they have learnt to call unbelief ; but 
they are only the misgivings of conscience, 



THE TREMBLING JAILER. 347 

warning them that they are building upon the 
sand. To you, then, we preach St. Peter s 
words, rather than St. Paul's, which he used in 
addressing a people very differently disposed 
from the Jailer — Repent ye, and be converted, 
that your sins may be blotted out (Acts hi. 19). 
We would not presume to say these things, if 
they tended to discourage any of you ; but we 
exhort you to begin again, and enter in at the 
strait gate. 

3. We address, lastly, those who know in 

TRUTH THE SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

It is said in the context, that the keeper of 
the prison rejoiced, believing in God, even that 
very night— he rejoiced before it was day. 
This would be called enthusiasm, by some who 
give that name to all professed assurance of 
pardon. It is not often that assurance is ob- 
tained so soon: but we may tell you, that, if 
you have now believed, you shall be saved — 
you are saved — Rejoice, therefore, in hope of 
the glory of God. Soon shall the Spirit witness 
with your spirit, that you are the children of 
God. Ere long you shall know what it is to 
be saved ! when, amidst the wreck of a shat- 
tered world, and the dissolution of all things, 
you shall, like Paul and Silas in the earthquake, 
stand unmoved at the danger, and rise superior 
to the ruin. 



SERMON XVII, 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 



EPHESIANS, II. 1 — 3. 

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in 
trespasses and sins ; w herein in time past ye 
walked according to the course of this world, 
according to the prince of the power of the 
air, the spirit that now worketh in the children 
of disobedience : among whom also we all had 
our conversation in times past, in the lusts of 
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 
of the mind ; and were by nature the children 
of wrath, even as others. 

In order to preserve in our minds a constant 
remembrance of our union to Christ and de- 
pendance upon him, it has pleased the Holy 
Ghost, in the Scriptures, to represent the prin- 
cipal operations of grace in the heart, in terms 
which correspond to the different parts of 
Christ's work and sufferings upon earth. Thus 
our deliverance from sin is called, in the 



350 



SEVENTEENTH SERMON. 



Epistle to the Colossians, the circumcision of 
Christ — a 'putting off of the body of the sins of 
the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ (Col. 
ii. 11). In a similar manner, according to other 
passages (Col. ii. and Rom. vi), we are buried 
with him in his baptism — crucified with him, or 
die with him in his death — rise with him in his 
resurrection — and sit with him in heaven ; that 
is, we undergo in our hearts a change similar 
and equal to that which took place in Christ's 
bodily condition, when, after a death and burial 
upon earth, he ascended to another world. 

This is one sense of those numerous pas- 
sages of the New Testament, in which we are 
joined with Christ in the several parts of his 
covenant transactions ; but is by no means the 
most important sense. The principal signifi- 
cation of them is undoubtedly this, that we 
are spiritually circumcised, crucified, buried, 
risen from sin unto righteousness, by virtue and 
power derived from his meritorious crucifixion 
and resurrection. 

We cannot, at this time, examime all the pas- 
sages at length ; but it will be proper for us to 
observe the one which introduces the text. 

In the preceding Chapter, St. Paul prays 
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wis- 
dom and revelation in the. knowledge of him .... 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 351 

according to the working of his mighty power ; 
which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him 
from the dead. The rest of the Chapter may be 
considered as only the continuation of this idea, 
or a digression : He hath raised him from the 
dead — and you, too, who ivere dead hi trespasses 
and sins : for the words, hath he quickened, are 
not in the Original. The terms of this propo- 
sition are brought together in the 5th verse, 
where the same idea is represented — even when 
we were dead in sins, he hath quickened us toge- 
ther with Christ. 

The words contain a delineation of the 
state of man : first, as it is by nature ; 
secondly, as it is by fractice. 

1 . Ye were dead in trespasses and sins. We are, 
in our natural state, compared to the dead. 

Let us contemplate that mournful residue of 
human nature, a dead body. Among the 
useful lessons to be read from it, there is one 
not to be forgotten — that it is a picture of the 
natural condition of the human soul. This body 
has eyes, and feet, and the organs of a body ; 
but it neither sees, nor hears, nor acts, nor 
speaks : though it is furnished with the proper 
instruments of action and of suffering, it wants 
the vital principle to make those instruments 
perform their functions. 

So is the soul of man, 



352 



SEVENTEENTH SERMON". 



It comes into the world endued with all those 
faculties which are comprehended under the 
names of understanding, memory, and affec- 
tions: man has an Understanding, that can 
soar to unknown heights in science, and fathom 
the deepest mysteries of nature — powers of rea- 
soning, which can penetrate the most secret re- 
cesses of knowledge, and develope the greatest 
intricacies — comprehension of mind to embrace, 
at once, an almost endless variety of important 
subjects : he is possessed of a Memory, which 
can preserve the record of past experience, and 
former acquisitions in knowledge, to an extent 
of which we know not the limits : man has a 
Heart too — a heart that can flame with love, or 
rankle with hatred — that can burn with anger, 
or smile with complacency — a heart which can 
be elevated with hope, or depressed with fear — 
exulting with joy, or agonized with sorrow. 
When all these passions and powers of the soul 
are called into exercise, by those occasions which 
were intended by God to excite them, it is in its 
right state — it lives : this will be allowed ; but 
how does it appear that we are dead ? Can any 
one be at a loss to know what those occasions 
are? What is the appropriate object of all 
the faculties of the soul? can any one doubt 
whether the proper and peculiar employment 
of the Understanding be not to meditate on the 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 



358 



glories of that God, whose power and goodness 
called us into being and gave us a reasonable 
soul ? — whether it is not appropriately exercised 
when it adores, in the works of the creation, 
the hand of the great Architect ; or when it 
refers every event of providence to the imme- 
diate agency of that wise Governor, who sits at 
the helm ? will any one hesitate to allow that 
every passion of the soul should point to God ? — 
whether we should not love him most, who is 
indeed the most amiable ; and fear him most, 
who is the most terrible in his anger ?— whether 
we ought not to hate that most, which most he 
hates ; and rejoice in that most, which most he 
approves ? — and whether, though we may ad- 
mire, love, fear, and rejoice in certain created 
things, we are not in all seasons to have all our 
thoughts ultimately converging to God? That 
this is the reasonable condition of the soul and 
these its appropriate employments, is perfectly 
obvious to any one who will reflect that God is, 
in fact, the All in All of the universe — that 
nothing exists without him — that nothing is good 
or beautiful without him— that nothing can give 
us pleasure without his agency: he pervades 
the universe — he surrounds it — he upholds it — ■ 
he fills it ! it is all his own : he does every thing 
in it. Is the human soul, then, designed to do 
any thing but for God ? the Scripture, however, 



354 SEVENTEENTH SERMON* 

summarily confirms the conclusions of our rea- 
son ; for it says, the Lord hath made all things 
for himself. But does the soul of man naturally 
thus embrace the Deity, as the only suitable 
object of his Affections? do we not know that 
God is in none of his thoughts, instead of being 
in all of them ? he has passions, indeed, and the 
sensibility of them is sometimes vivid ; but the 
exercise of them is invariably confined to the 
things of this world, and never voluntarily and 
naturally ascends to God : set the Deity before 
him as an amiable, faithful, and gracious Being — - 
such an exhibition excites no emotion in his 
breast— no love, no joy, no confidence: array 
Jehovah in his terrors before the sinner — he 
will shrink, but he does not relent — lie fears 
punishment, but he does not fear God : change 
the theme, and tell him of the wonders of re- 
deeming love — here is employment for his 
Understanding to trace the wisdom of God in 
the plan of redemption, and scope for the exer- 
cise of his Affections in the consideration of the 
love of Christ and his own interest in it — but 
no ! nothing of this sort can gain his attention- 
it possesses no interest for him — he is deaf to 
the voice of the charmer, charm he never so 
wisely : strike what string you will, there is no 
chord in his heart that sounds in unison. What 
must we say of the state of that soul ? — that it 



THE STATS OF NATURE. 355 

is dead; for it performs no one function of 
spiritual life : all in it is torpid — inanimate — • 
dead ! There is a further propriety in calling the 
natural state of the soul by the name of death : 
there is in the dead body no power to return to 
life ; neither is there in the soul any ability to 
attain to spiritual life, or the exercise of holy 
affections toward God : nay, more — there is no 
Will to this end — a paralytic person may have 
no power to use his limbs, but he may possess 
the desire — whereas a dead person has not even 
the desire — so the natural soul has no will to 
live again unto God. There is in the dead 
body no spark of life, which time or care may 
fan into a flame : it will remain a corpse : 
nothing but the power of God can raise it from 
the dead. In like manner there is in the natural 
man no latent principle of spiritual life : with- 
out a Divine Intercessor, he must ever remain 
as he is : no good education, or good resolu- 
tions, as they are called, will ever make him a 
good man, except there be a superadded prin- 
ciple from above — a change wrought in him by 
an Eternal Agent — life put into him by the 
Spirit of God. He is, however, not so dead, 
but there is an ability to commit sin ; and, 
therefore, he is said to be dead in trespasses and 
sins: it is a life full of dead acts — a sort of dying 
life — a living death — a life which is all death. 



856 SEVENTEENTH SERMOK. 

This is the moral state of man. 

No less awfully sad and dangerous in his 
judicial state. 

By his Moral state, we mean the state of his 
heart, as it respects right or wrong ; by his 
Judicial, his state before God, considered as 
innocent or guilty. 

He is born guilty — he is a child of wrath, 
Antecedently to our works, or even moral 
agency, even in infancy, we are under the 
wrath of God. The account to be given of 
this doctrine, as we hold it, is this — that God 
dealt with Adam in a collective capacity, as the 
father of mankind ; and when he became guilty, 
all his descendants became guilty likewise. 

This being a matter of pure revelation, in 
which reason supplies us with few explanations, 
our only concern is to produce one or two of 
those passages of Scripture on which the truth 
is established. The text is immediately in 
point : for, that the Apostle might not be sup- 
posed to call the Ephesians children of wrath, 
on account of their being Gentiles, he includes 
himself and every Christian Brother in the 
number; for he writes thus — Among whom we 
all had our conversation in times past, and 
were by nature the children of wrath, even as 
others. But the fullest explication of this truth 
will be found in Romans, ch. v. verses 12—14 : 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 



357 



there the Apostle's argument seems to be, that, 
before the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai, 
there could be no transgression of that law ; if, 
therefore, there be any instance of punishment, 
the sufferers must have been considered as guilty 
by some other law : but there are instances of 
suffering, namely, the death of infants : now no 
innocent person can suffer in an upright part of 
God's government, therefore these infants are 
considered as guilty; but their guilt could not have 
arisen from themselves, for they never commit- 
ted any sin ; and therefore it is the guilt of Adam 
imputed to them: in the succeeding verses, 
where St. Paul draws the line between what was 
lost in Adam and gained in Christ, he asserts 
the imputation of Adam's sin repeatedly— 
through the offence of one many are dead — the 
judgment was by one to our condemnation — by 
one mans offence death reigned by one — by the 
offence of one judgment come upon all men to con- 
demnation — by one mans disobedience many were 
made sinners (Rom. v. 15 — 19). 

Think of this, Brethren. What will it avail 
that you are harmless in your lives, while you 
still remain in that state of spiritual death in 
which you were born? If you know nothing of 
a transition from death unto life, a change of 
your hearts from sin unto holiness, you are not 
yet risen from the dead—you cannot see the 
kingdom of God. 



358 



SEVENTEENTH SERMON. 



And what are your reflections on the other 
passage of this text; that we are children of 
wrath? Do you believe that that wrath will one 
clay be revealed ? and that those, who neglect 
the appointed method of restoration, shall find 
that God spoke a dreadful truth, when he pro- 
nounced the primeval curse upon Adam? 
Take instruction of your duty, and warning of 
your danger, from one word of Scripture — He, 
that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life; 
but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, 
but the wrath of God abideth on him (John iii.36.) 

II. From this view of the natural condition 
of mankind, let us proceed to consider, in the 
second place, the PRACTICE to which it leads. 

Ye ivalked according to the course of this 
world: that is not, "ye were murderers, thieves, 
adulterers ;" for this can hardly be said to be 
the course of this world, at least we hope not: 
the greater number are rather outwardly decent ; 
so that the course of this world is rather a course 
of outward decorum, than inconsistent with it. 

The natural man, on his entrance into life, 
finds by far the greater part of mankind like- 
minded with himself ; and so, first in his heart, 
and then in his practice, he joins the gay world 
of thoughtless people; and, mingling with the 
throng, he henceforth becomes one of then 
number, God has marked out one course for 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 859 

him to run in his passage through the earth, and 
the world takes another : bnt he fears the world 
more than he fears God, and he loves the people 
of the world better than he loves God ; and, 
therefore, he deliberately makes choice of the 
ways of the world. 

We said deliberately — for there is in some, 
indeed, great ignorance of the consequence of 
joining with the world, though not sufficient to 
excuse them : but, in general, in the beginning 
of life, it is not without some checks of con- 
science, arising from perhaps a pious education 
or other causes, that he yields himself to the 
current of general example, and is carried down 
the stream. 

Henceforward he adopts the same system as 
the people of the world : he conforms to their 
customs and manners, is guided by their rules, 
and receives their maxims as his own. All 
that neglect of religion which is visible in the 
world, is to be seen in him. That contempt of 
them that fear God, which is found so generally 
in mankind, he also feels or affects to feel. 
That giddy pursuit of trifles, fondness for 
amusements, thirst of riches or honours, which 
mark the people of the world, form a part of 
his character : he places all his happiness in 
bodily comfort or some fancied possession in 
this life, and liv es as if he were never to die. 



360 SEVENTEENTH SERMON. 

Alas! how little does he reflect, or those 
with whom he is joined, on their misery and 
danger ! This their way is their folly, says the 
Psalmist : like sheep they are laid in the grave : 
death shall feed on them ; and the upright shall 
have dominion over them in the morning ; and 
their beauty shall consume in the gravels, xlix. 
1 3, 1 4). They think not that God hath said of 
them, that all that is in the world, the lust of 
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of 
life, is not of the Father, hut is of the world 
(1 John ii. 16). So entirely wrong, and hostile 
to God, is the course of this world, that even the 
friendship of the world is enmity against God. 

And the course of this world, where does it 
end ? — the broad road, where does it terminate? 
With all the advantage of numbers on their 
side, with which they fill and throng the broad 
road, that road can never be any other than 
what Christ has declared it to be — the one 
which leadeth to destruction. Why should 
any of us, and particularly the Young, be fasci- 
nated by the pleasures which the world seem 
to enjoy, or be deceived by their numbers, 
when hell hath enlarged herself and opened her 
mouth without measure ; and their glory, and 
their multitude, and their pomp, and he that re- 
joiceth, shall descend into it! (Is. v. 14). 

If they would see still more the wretchedness 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 361 

of their state, let them hear what master they 
are serving. They walk according to the course 
of this world, according to the prince of the 
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in 
the children of disobedience. St. Paul couples 
these two courses together, as being synoni- 
mous ; or, at least, as explanatory one of the 
other. They, who walk according to the world, 
walk according to Satan. Now when men 
confess that they are walking according to the 
world — which they will sometimes very openly 
acknowledge, by saying that they do as others 
do, that they cannot break with the world, that 
they have their interests in mind and must 
therefore not make themselves offensive by their 
singularity-— they think not that they are saying 
this, in fact, that they cannot disobey Satan 
whom so many serve— they cannot quarrel with 
his servants — they cannot run the risk of losing 
the wages which they hope to receive from him. 
Such language openly expressed, or even such 
thoughts springing up in the mind, would 
startle the wickedest of men : yet such is the 
language of the carnal heart, as interpreted by 
the Word of God. 

A wise enemy is not unwilling to have his 
power and resources undervalued and ridiculed, 
by one whom he hopes to make his prey ; and 
therefore Satan, though he is the prince of the 



362 SEVENTEENTH SERMON, 

power of the air — the head of that legion of 
spirits, whom the Jews supposed to inhabit the 
air, and to be more powerful than the rest — 
though he is repeatedly called by Christ the 
prince of this world (John xii. 3 1 . xiv.30. xvi. 11), 
and, by an Apostle, the God of this world 
(2 Cor. iv. 4) — not, indeed, by any other right 
than that of usurpation, though he is a great 
spirit, and one that actually is now working in 
the children of disobedience ; that is, upon the 
Gentile Idolaters, whom he makes to perform 
their adorations to himself : yet he is well con- 
tented to hear his existence denied by enlight- 
ened men, and all the account of his agency 
ridiculed as tales invented to frighten children. 

The humble Christian sees sufficient in the 
Scriptures to put him upon his guard against 
Satan, and is thankful that he is warned of the 
existence of such a foe ; without which revela- 
tion, he would be at a loss to divine the origin 
of peculiar thoughts that unaccountably rise up 
in his mind. 

There is a roaring lion going about seeking 
whom he may devour; and his name is Satan, 
our adversary : and those are under his in- 
fluences, who, least of all men, suspect it. They 
are deceived by him, who are so besotted by 
love of the world or attachment to their self- 
righteous doings, that, while they deny not the 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 363 

Gospel, they perceive not the suitableness and 
glory of it : for it is thus written, The god of 
this world hath blinded the minds of them which 
believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel 
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine 
unto them (2 Cor. iv. 4). They are of the Devil, 
who live in the practice of any known sin, or 
neglect of any known duty: for, Ye are of your 
father the devil ; and the lusts of your father ye 
will do : he, that committeth sin, is of the devil 
(1 Johniii. 8) — he is of the devil, or according 
to the prince of the poiver of the air — he acts 
from the suggestions of Satan, and in confor- 
mity to his wishes— he does that which pleases 
the evil spirit, that which promotes his plans 
and enlarges his kingdom — he does that which 
is after the example of Satan, which will bring 
him to dwell with the devil and his angels. 

Are there no such characters, think you, 
current in the world ? — no such in the present 
assembly ? They may know themselves by this 
infallible mark, that they fulfil the desires of 
the flesh and of tlie mind: by this you see that 
those who please Satan, are identified with 
those who please themselves. 

44 Are we then always to deny ourselves ? — 
does virtue consist in always acting contrary to 
our own desires?" No : it is possible that duty 
and inclination may coincide; especially in 



364 



SEVENTEENTH SERMON. 



those who have been long in the ways of God. 
But it is evident that the natural inclinations 
will always be either contrary to the law of 
God, or exceed the limits assigned by it ; for 
the heart, where those desires find their origin, 
is totally depraved and corrupt: hence it is, 
that to fulfil the desires of the fleshly mind is 
sinful : thus speaks St. Paul, The carnal mind, 
that is, our natural disposition, is enmity against 
God (Rom. viii. 7) ; and, therefore, to fulfil the 
desires of the flesh and of the mind, is an act 
of enmity against God. Yet it is undeniably the 
practice of mankind, to please themselves : 
though they sometimes forego their immediate 
self-gratifications for the sake of future advan- 
tages, yet they will not by any means renounce 
what they suppose to be their temporal inte- 
rests for the sake of God : they consider them- 
selves as entirely at liberty to follow their incli- 
nations as far as public opinions, or the laws 
of the land, or their own unenlightened con- 
sciences will countenance them ; but they know 
nothing of acting from the simple motive of pleas- 
ing God. Hence, a natural man will apply his 
money to such purposes of luxury or sin, as may 
seem productive of most pleasure to himself : his 
time shall be squandered away in amusements, 
or such employments as are agreeable to him- 
self: the language of their hearts is this, "Who 



\ 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 365 

is Lord over us 1 . — if we choose to spend what 
is our own in this or that manner, who is to 
take upon himself to call us to account for it ?" 
Thus they forget that God is that Being, alone, 
in the universe, that must be pleased — that His 
will must be done on earth, as it is in heaven — 
that to consult our own inclinations instead of 
His commands, is an act of daring rebellion 
against the Sovereign of the Universe — and that 
all we do for God as a sort of compensation to 
him, while our hearts are in this state, is rejected 
by him with scom. Israel is an empty vine : he 
bringeth forth fruit unto himself (Hos. x. 1). 

Let a reflection or two on this subject CON- 
CLUDE our discussion upon it. 

How dreadful is the nature of sin ! Adam 
sinned but once ; yet that one offence was an 
offence against the commands of God : and 
God will have us to see, in the natural conse- 
quences of sin, how exceedingly dreadful is its 
nature ; for from that one offence has flowed 
that torrent of spiritual, temporal, and eternal 
misery, which has deluged the world. Not to 
mention that it has filled the body with disease 
and the soul with sorrow, let it be recollected, 
that it has caused the countless millions of his 
posterity to come into the world dead to all the 
purposes of their creation^ and under the curse 



SEVENTEENTH SERMON. 



and wrath of Almighty God ! and then, in con- 
sequence, living as might be expected : serving 
the world, the devil, and the flesh ; given up by 
God to a reprobate mind ; filled tvith all unright- 
eousness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy , 
murder, debate, deceit, malignity; haters of God, 
despiteful, proud (Rom. i. 28—30) — -yea, that 
this life of sin belongs to all natural men without 
any exception ; for even an Apostle includes 
himself in the number, We ourselves also ivere 
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving 
divers lusts and pleasures, living m malice and 
envy, hateful, and hating one another (Titus 
iii. 3) — that nothing was found of sufficient effi- 
cacy to deliver men from this condition, but the 
blood and agony of God's own Son — and that 
those who reject this, do, by following the 
natural course of things, thereby plunge them- 
selves into everlasting perdition. 

Oh, who would not tremble at the commis- 
sion of that, which is thus surcharged with 
infinite mischiefs and woes ! Who would not 
fear to disobey that holy Lord God, who, for 
one offence of man, does in justice bring down 
such awful marks of His wrath on him and his 
posterity ! 

Since, however, his love and mercy have pro- 
vided a way of recovery, how important it is, 
that we should both begin to seek our salvation, 



THE STATE OF NATURE. 86 T 

and should seek it in the right way ! Let us be- 
ware of imagining that it is only becoming a 
little more strict in our duties : there must be a 
very powerful and universal change on the 
heart and sentiments, resembling a resurrection 
from the dead, or else the Scriptures aver a vain 
exaggeration. 

Again, if you ever begin this great work, take 
those words of the text as a test and criterion 
of your state, namely, the walking according to 
the course of this world, Though your not 
walking in that course will not necessarily 
prove your sincerity, the walking according to 
the course of this world will certainly evidence 
your insincerity: for this passage will then 
identify you with those who are dead in sins ; 
who are fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 
of the mind, and continue the children of 
wrath. 

Let me, then, once more warn you all, that to 
be like the generality of men is to be in a state 
of death, a state in which ruin is silently work- 
ing ; and that whenever the time may be that 
you shall serve God, or in whatever place, you 
will begin to differ widely from the people 
around you. Singularity is unavoidable; and 
if it be a cross, it must be taken up. Happy 
and holy is he, who hath part in this spiritual 



368 



SEVENTEENTH SERMON. 



resurrection ! no more a slave to custom and 
public opinion, he begins to act for himself 
according to the dictates of reason and religion, 
and rises into the glorious liberty of the chil- 
dren of God ! 



SERMON XVIIL 

THE STATE OF GRACE. 



EPHES. II. 4—7. 

God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love 
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead 
in sins, hath quickened us together with Christy 
( grace ye are saved ;) and hath raised us 
up together, and made us sit together in hea- 
venly places in Christ Jesus : that, in the ages 
to come, he might shew the exceeding riches of 
his grace, in his kindness toward us through 
Christ Jesus. 

In the dispensation of mercy which God has 
made for the recovery of mankind, it appears, 
according to his revelation of it, that though 
each of the Persons of the Blessed Trinity has 
been graciously pleased to undertake a distinct 
and separate part in it, yet all of them are 
equally glorified by the execution of the plan. 
The love displayed in it is the love of each Per- 

B B 



370 



EIGHTEENTH SERMON. 



son of the Godhead, and the success of it m 
the conversion of a sinner redounds to the ever- 
lasting glory of them all. 

Hence, when we behold the Father maintain- 
ing the rights of the Deity . and the strictness 
•of his laws, and wearing an aspect of severe 
justice, we are not to imagine that he was drawn 
with reluctance to be gracious, or that the 
salvation of sinners was extorted from him; 
for it was owing to the great love of the Father., 
that the Son was given to be the Saviour of 
the world : God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only-begotten Son (Johniii. 16); and God, 
who is rich in mercy, for his great love ivhere- 
with he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, 
hath quickened us together with Christ. 

We shall endeavour, from these words, to 
shew, first, the nature of that salvation* 
which god works in us ; next, the original 
source of it ; and, lastly, the final end or 
purpose of it* 

L The NATURE of that salvation which God 
works in us. 

Having on the preceding Sabbath shewn, 
from the former words of this Chapter, into 
what state we had brought ourselves, let us now 
see what God has done for us. 

1. Let us not suppose that the great salvation 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



871 



which is wrought in the people of God is a 
name, or a profession, an external washing ; or 
that it consists in saying Lord, Lord; or in 
being free from vice — or, on the other hand, in 
pronouncing the " shibboleth" of a party ; or 
in having clear views of the way of grace : but 

it is A RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. You 

hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses 
and sins. God, when we were dead in sins, hath 
quickened us together with Christ, and raised us 
up together. It is, therefore, a great and happy 
change ! and if it is described as experienced 
by all, the description of it is addressed to all ; 
for what God hath done for any, he is willing 
to do for all. / 

The change of heart, of which we must 
sooner or later be the subjects if w r e would 
enter into the kingdom, is likened, we see, to 
a rising of the dead. Touched by the 
finger of God, the soul awakes from its sleep, 
quits its grave of sin and death, and rises into 
life and liberty — spiritual objects assume a 
new appearance — the names of eternal things 
sound differently — and a new world seems 
unfolding to the view. The God, whom the 
world forget, and whose judgments are far 
above out of their sight, is revealed unto us : 
we look up, and behold : for the first time, 
we practically acknowledge his existence, by 
b b 2 



372 



EIGHTEENTH SERMON. 



seeing that he is one to be feared and loved. 
The Saviour of Sinners, whom the world think 
of no more than if he had never come to die 
for them, we acknowledge and embrace as a 
friend ; and his salvation is all our hope and all 
cur desire. We are awakened to see that 
heaven and hell are no dream — that religion, 
which teaches how to escape the one and 
obtain the other, is something to be thought of 
■ — that the offers of the Gospel must be seized 
with eagerness; for that the world is passing 
swiftly away, time is carrying us down the 
stream, and an unknown eternity is at hand ! 
Thus we are quickened into the reasonable life 
of seeing things as they are ; and not carried 
out into wild fancies about unreal things. 

When one born blind receives his sight, the 
visible creation seems to have just started into 
being, all is so new ; and yet all things are so 
as they were from the beginning — the change 
is in him : so when the soul is quickened into 
spiritual life, we see, and see with wonder, a 
meaning and force and power in divine things, 
as if they w r ere all just discovered to mankind ; 
whereas we cannot but acknowledge that the 
same objects were presented to us before. But 
the fact is, that, till we were quickened by 
God, we had no sense that could be suitably 
affected by eternal things. They were spread 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



373 



abroad before us, but we looked at them, as at 
a picture which is looked at a few minutes and 
then forgotten : they had no hold upon us 
— they made no impression — they scarcely 
appeared real — and sometimes we doubted 
whether they had any existence. But we are 
now quickened to feel those things to be true, 
which before we only thought to be so. 

This capability of being influenced by invi- 
sible things is immediately followed by suitable 
action. Life discovers itself by motion and 
activity ; and, accordingly, as soon as God has 
quickened the soul and raised it from the 
dead, it begins to move and act for God. We 
were very active before ; but it was in the 
service of sin and Satan. We did nothing for 
God ; but now, raised up by his mercy, we 
devote ourselves entirely to him : we desire 
to live, breathe, speak, move, and act only for 
him : our time, money, all, are given to him. 
The sanctifying agency of God the Spirit 
within us, is that which our eye is daily fixed 
upon : the extension of God's kingdom without 
us, is a constant and delightful subject of our 
thoughts and prayers : the expectation of the 
day when we shall be with God is kept in view. 
In short, by this spiritual resurrection, a new 
turn is given to our characters : our lives and 
tempers, our hopes and fears, our favourite 



374 



EIGHTEENTH SERMON, 



company and subjects of conversation, our 
employment and recreations, the regulation of 
our families and education of children — all 
shew that the new life into which we are 
quickened, is truly a resurrection by divine 
power, because it is a life of activity for God. 

He hath quickened us together with Christ, 
and raised us up together. It is through the 
death and resurrection of the Blessed Son of 
God in our nature, that there is now a free 
scope for the exercise of the Father s mercy ; 
so that when we are dead in sins, he can, 
consistently with his attributes of justice and 
truth, raise us from our sinful state : for Christ 
having died for our sins and risen again for our 
justification, and thus having completed the 
whole work, he obtained the fulness of the 
Spirit, who should work the mighty change in 
the hearts of sinners. And that Holy Agent 
always likens our conversion to the death and 
resurrection of Christ, from which it originates : 
Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by 
the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
walk in newness of life : for if we have been 
planted together in the likeness of his death, we 
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. 
If tee be dead with Christ, tee believe that 
we shall also live with him : knowing that 
Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



375 



more; death hath no more dominion over him 
(Rom. vi. 4, 5, 8, g). 

2. These expressions lead our minds to re- 
flect on another benefit which we receive in 
Christ, referred to also in the text, which it 
were well for us if we retained more steadily in 
view: that is, the glorious resurrection of 
the body at the Last Day, as well as the spiri- 
tual resurrection of the soul ; for if the Spirit 
of him that raised tip Jesus from the dead dwell 
in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead 
shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit 
that dwelleth in you (Rom. viii. 11). It is He, 
who shall change our vile body, that it may be 
fashioned like unto his glorious body (Phil, 
iii. 21). I am the resurrection and the life, saith 
the Lord : he, that believeth in me, though he 
were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth 
and believeth in me shall never die* JBelievest 
thou this? (John xi. 25, 26). It is a fearful 
question which nature asks — " What shall be- 
come of me when I go hence ? and what shall 
become of this bodily frame in the final wreck 
of elements?" Christ silences all fears: This is 
the Father s will which hath sent me, that, of all 
which he hath given me, I should lose nothing ; 
but should raise it up again* at the Last Day 
fJohn vi. 39) — manifestly referring to the body. 

3. Let us prolong our views ; and consider* 



376 



EIGHTEENTH SERMON. 



that, besides this spiritual and literal resurrec- 
tion accomplished in the saints through Christ, 
there is a mystical and a literal ascension with 
him into heaven : He hath made us sit together 
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 

The soul of a believer is already in heaven, 
by faith and contemplation. Heavenly-mind- 
edness is a rare and precious grace — the privi- 
lege of all saints ; but found, in its purity, with 
few. It is to disregard the world, and the 
things of it — to be comparatively unconcerned 
about our lot in it, whether prosperous or ad- 
verse — to look on heaven as our home — to have 
a taste for its joys, and sometimes a prelibation 
or foretaste of them — in fine, to fulfil such scrip- 
tural directions as these, Lay up for yourselves 
treasures in heaven ; for where your treasure is, 
there will your heart be also. Our conversation 
is in heaven ; from whence also we look for the 
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. If ye be risen 
with Christ, seek those things which are above, 
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God : 
set your affection on things above, not on things 
on the earth (Matt. vi. 20, 21. Phil. iii. 20. Col. 
iii. 1,2). 

Happy is the man who is living in these 
delightful exercises ! Walking in the light even 
as God is in the light; surely he shall enjoy 
fellowship with the Father and with his Son 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



37T 



Jesus Christ (1 John i. 7). A holy calm shall be 
diffused over his breast, and all heaven descend 
into his soul, while he walks in secret with 
God: through Christ, we have access to the 
Father by the Spirit. But joys like these re- 
quire a diligent keeping of the heart, and the 
Spirit must have witnessed with our spirits that 
we are the children of God : yet if we do not 
participate them, it is not in God, but in us ; 
for he hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, 
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
dead (1 Pet. i. 3). 

It is his will that we should sit in heavenly 
places now ; and, hereafter, when our life of 
faith on earth is closed, it is determined by our 
God that the portals of heaven shall be thrown 
open to us, and we shall enter and sit down 
with Christ. Having ivashed our robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb, we 
shall be before the throne of God, and serve him 
day and night in his temple (Rev. vii. 14, 15). 
The fight fought, the course finished, the work 
wrought — we go to sit down with Christ, and 
enjoy a perpetual rest, a sabbath of heavenly 
joys. Having followed him in the regenera- 
tion, even the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, it 
is the corresponding recompense of grace that 
we sit down with him on his throne. In hea- 
venly places is a seat prepared for the saints— 



373 



EIGHTEENTH SERMOtf. 



in mansions of iight, where the King of Kings 
sits for ever enthroned ; and there we shall 
behold his glory ! Father, I will that they also, 
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I 
am; that they may behold my glory, which thou 
hast given me (John xvii. 24), 

II. The possession of so much happiness on 
earth and so much glory in heaven presup- 
poses, perhaps, a powerfully meritorious claim 
in ourselves upon the favour of God who hath 
been so bounteous. How fa^r this surmise is 
from being agreeable to truth will be seen, 
while we investigate the original and MOVING 
CAUSE of God's gracious proceedings. The 
Lord looked down from heaven upon the children 
of men, to see if there were any that did under- 
stand and seek God ; but they are all gone aside: 
there is none that doeth good, no not one (Ps. 
xiv. 2, 3). He saw their state and pitied it. 
He saw them sunk in the deepest abyss of 
misery, while they themselves were unconscious 
of it ; and hurrying with mad precipitance to 
eternal woes, while they themselves laughed at 
the ruin which was ripening for them. His 
bowels of compassion were moved, because he 
foresaw that they must fall a sacrifice to his 
justice, unless some one interposed to screen 
and rescue them ; and, none being adequate to 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



379 



this work but his Own Son, God, who is rich in 
mercy, for his great love ivherewith lie loved us, 
spared not even Him, but gave him up for 
us all. 

In those who were thus the objects of his 
compassion, there was no manner of cause 
existing why aught should be done for them. 
It is impossible to assign any one circumstance 
in the condition of man, that made him more 
the deserving subject of a Saviour's dispensa- 
tion than the fallen angels. There is a total 
absence of all worthiness and of all extenuat- 
ing considerations in his case ; and, on the 
other hand, an absolute fitness between his 
demerit and the eternal misery connected with 
it. The sufferings of a fellow T - creature excite 
our compassion, often because they have arisen 
from casualty, or have been occasioned by the 
misconduct of others ; but there is nothing 
resembling this in the case of mankind before 
God. They only eat of the fruit of their own 
way, and are filled with their own devices (Prov. 
i. 31). There w r as no desire in man for obtain- 
ing mercy ; for the state of his mind is thus 
expressed, dead in trespasses and sins — insen- 
sible, ignorant, and unconcerned whether God 
even made a revelation of himself or no. 

Man was, however, not so inanimate, but he 
could be active in sin : his life is a life spent in 



380 



EIGHTEENTH SERM03T. 



sin. Was it to be expected that the Sovereign 
of the Universe should be favourable to persons, 
who added to the guilt of inactivity the provo- 
cation of active rebellion? Was God obliged 
to it, on the score of his own happiness or glory? 
Must he not for ever dwell embosomed in re- 
pose, unchangeably happy in his own per- 
fections ; whether the universe of creatures 
continue as he created them, or chuse to de- 
stroy their happiness by sin? Would aught 
be subtracted from his glory, if the world had 
perished ? or rather, if it had so perished, while 
the earth with her guilty millions sank in the 
tiame would not the great archangels have 
praised God and said, Who shall not fear thee, 
O Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only 
art holy (Rev. xv. 4). And could he not call 
forth another universe into being, with the same 
ease as he created this, if the mean and polluted 
earth had been consigned to its fate ? Truly 
he could. 

Then what name shall we give to that attri- 
bute of our God, which moved him to cominis- 
serate and save? It is not Goodness, but 
mercy. Goodness may be exercised toward the 
innocent, but Mercy respects only the guilty. 
Goodness is conformable to the established 
laws of the universe, and a well-known and 
acknowledged attribute of God ; but Mercy, 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



881 



Mercy like this, is a departure from regulated 
laws, in order to produce a phenomenon of 
love : it is an interruption of natural conse- 
quences : it is a reversion of the current of 
things, to bring forth to the world a miracle : 
or, rather, it should be called goodness passing 
its usual limits ; the excess, the exuberance, the 
overflowings of love — love prolonged and ex- 
tended to a boundless infinity and eternity — - 
love expanded to a breadth, and length, and 
depth, and height, which leave us unable to 
follow it ! 

It would be desirable to illustrate the nature 
of Grace, by adducing an instance of it among 
men, if such instances existed ; but they do 
not — at least so as to afford an adequate repre- 
sentation of the grace of God in the recovery of 
the world. If a king, out of pure goodness of 
heart, and not from fear or selfish motives, 
should give free pardon to a traitor who had 
sought his life, and not only so but heap favours 
and honours upon him ; and, in order to this, 
should give one of his own family to be dis- 
graced and executed in his place — this might, 
perhaps, shadow forth faintly what God has 
done for us. For herein is to be seen the sin- 
gularity of God's mercy, that whereas, perad- 
venture^for a good man some would even dare to 
die (and well is this premised with peradven- 



382 EIGHTEENTH SERMON. 

ture) God commendeth his love to us, in that, 
while iv e were yet sinners, Christ died for us 
(Rom. v. 7, 8). 

If, from the general contemplation of the 
divine proceedings toward man, we descend to 
our individual experience of his grace upon our 
hearts, all of us, who have received it in truth, 
unanimously concur in this confession — " It 
was because God is rich in mercy, that he 
quickened us together with Christ:" for we 
may ask of ourselves, " Did self, uncontrolled 
from above, ever make one movement toward 
God, and not always from him ? Even when 
the shades of darkness began to disperse, and 
God, by means of our consciences, had a hold 
upon our fears, were we not still strongly reluc- 
tant to our duty? Why are we saved, and 
others left to perish? Why are we distin- 
guished from relatives similar to us in dispo- 
sition — from the world, equal to us in good- 
ness — from the spirits in prison, inferior to us, 
many of them, in guilt ? Shall we basely arro- 
gate the praise that does not belong to us ? 
Shall we take the glory from God and give it 
to ourselves ?" No, no ! Not unto us, O Lord, 
not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for 
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake (Ps. cxv. 1). 
Speak not in thine heart, saying, For my right- 
eousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



383 



this land — not for thy righteousness, or for the 
uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to pos- 
sess the land (Deut. ix. 4, 5). Who maketh thee 
to differ from another? and what hast thou that 
thou didst not receive? (1 Cor. iv. 7). You will 
not fail to acknowledge, Brethren in Christ, 
that it is all of God. Only through the tender 
mercy of our God, the day-spring from on high 
hath visited us. 

And observe how the rapid parenthesis of 
the Apostle, in the text, is interposed to con- 
firm what is asserted in the beginning of the 
sentence : as if it were not sufficient to have 
said, that God, ivho is rich in mercy, for his 
great love wherewith he loved us, even when we 
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together 
with Christ ; he suddenly suspends his words, 
and adds, by grace ye are saved—" Whatever 
else I am about to say, remember this, that by 
grace ye are saved/ If you hear the way of sal- 
vation enlarged upon, remember it comes to 
this, by grace are ye saved/ If precepts are in- 
culcated, or dangers laid open, or rewards 
promised, or trials experienced, let not this be 
forgotten, that by grace ye are saved/" Though 
we be holy, then, even as the Apostles, we 
must join them in saying, We believe, that, 
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we 
shall he saved, even as they, the Gentiles (Acts 



384 



EIGHTEENTH SERMOX. 



xv. 7) — that we must be justified freely by his 
grace, through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus (Rom. iii. 24) — that being justified by his 
grace, we shall be made heirs, according to the 
hope of eternal life (Tit. iii. 7). 

III. If there are any who withhold their con- 
sent to this, they should beware of defeating, 
according to their ability, the FINAL END which 
we said God proposed in the work of salvation, 
which is his own glory. He hath raised us up 
together, and made us sit together in heavenly 
places, that, in the ages to come he might shew 
the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness 
toward us through Christ Jesus. 

If the kindness of God toward us is designed 
to display, as it is with peculiar glory, the ex- 
ceeding riches of the grace of an unfathomable 
Deity through all the ages to come, even 
through all the ages of eternity, there must be 
something, I should suppose, either inexplica- 
bly grand in the work of God itself, or some- 
thing inconceivably desperate in the state of 
man, the subject of it, so as far to exceed the 
grasp of a created mind. 

" God hath quickened us," says St. Paul : 
that is, " you Epheskns " — who w T ere iniquitous 
even to a proverb ; indeed, like the Heathen 
now, as bad as they could be — u and me a Jew, 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



385 



of irreproachable character" — both equally 
needed conversion we see: 44 He hath con- 
verted us both, that, in after-ages, he might 
shew to the world ; first by my example, that 
there is not a heart so hardened in pride and 
self-righteousness that the riches of God's grace 
cannot pardon and humble it" — Hear his own 
confession, This is a faithful saying, and wor- 
thy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came 
into the world to save sinners: of whom lam 
chief Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, 
that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth 
all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which 
should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting 
(1 Tim. i. 15, 16) — "and you, wicked Ephe- 
sians, hath he converted, and committed the 
account of it to writing, and left it upon re- 
cord, and handed it down to posterity, that 
sinners, in all after-ages may see, and know, and 
consider, and understand together, that the hand 
of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One 
of Israel hath created it." (Is. xli. 20). 

God wills that sinners of the deepest stain 
should be told of this, and should be encou- 
raged to hope and pray for conversion and for- 
giveness : therefore, there is not a creature liv- 
ing, not even the long-forsaken and degraded 
Heathen, for whom there is not in the heart of 

c c 



386 



EIGHTEENTH SERMON. 



God an inexhaustible depth of riches of kind- 
ness and love. 

Oh, who is a God like unto thee, thatpardon- 
eth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of 
the remnant of his heritage ! (Micah vii. 1 8). Let 
this be our song ! Let the Lord see that we sin- 
ners in these latter ages have, according to his 
intention, seen the exceeding riches of his 
grace, and do ardently long to praise him. 
Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and 
gracious; long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy 
and truth (Ps. lxxxvi. 15). Let us stand with 
Moses and listen, while the Lord descends in 
the cloud and proclaims his name — The Lord, 
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suf- 
fering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 
keeping mercy for thousands, for giving iniquity 
and transgression and sin (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7). 

This will be the burden of our song in an- 
other world ; for, in the ages which are to 
come, when time shall be no longer, God has 
designed to shew the exceeding riches of his 
grace. The place which is reserved for us in 
heaven might have been filled with new orders 
of angels : but God has willed that the vault of 
heaven should resound with the Hallelujahs of 
redeemed souls — souls once lost, but now 
found; once dead, but now quickened ; perish- 



THE STATE OF GRACE. 



387 



ing, but now saved ; he has shewn to the 
universe examples of his goodness in all his 
other proceedings — his works of providence 
and creation : but now, to delight the minds of 
his angels and unfold more of his perfections, 
he will open to them more of the mysteries of 
his boundless love, by letting them see how the 
power of his mercy and love, operating by his 
Son Christ, can elevate souls from the dregs of 
sin, the abyss of guilt, to be equal to the angels 
— how it can make them worthy, in the wor- 
thiness of Jesus, and meet, by the in- dwelling 
of the Spirit, to partake of the inheritance of 
angels ; nay, even to sit down with the Son of 
God on his throne. 

This display of Love will be the theme of 
endless contemplation and endless praise ; and 
the Angels, who never stained their robes, and 
Sinners, who have washed them white in the 
blood of the Lamb, shall, with one heart and 
one song of admiration and gratitude, join in 
casting their crowns before the throne, and 
saying, Worthy is the Lamb ! Salvation to our 
God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb ! (Rev. v. 12. vii. 10). 

Amidst all our joys, one might almost think 
that one of the first reflections which we shall 
make on our arrival there will be — " What 
c c 2 



388 



EIGHTEENTH SERMON. 



degrading thoughts have we hitherto entertained 
of this God of Love!" 

Let this be a concluding reflection, subjoined 
to what we have been saying — * * What a low 
and mean opinion do we habitually maintain of 
the Blessed God !•" We have been hearing what 
God hath done for us, in quickening and raising 
us with Christ to hope and holiness, to faith 
and enjoyment, and that, in the most honoura- 
ble and safe manner, in Christ — that when 
there was no call for all this from any thing in 
ourselves, he found a sufficient motive in his 
own divine tenderness and love — that he has 
determined that our salvation shall be so purely 
of grace and so full of glory, that men and 
angels shall be wrapt in everlasting astonish- 
ment at love so great ! We have tried to say 
something on these things ; but, as men un- 
inspired must ever do, we spoil what we touch 
of God and his Love : yet still, under all the 
disadvantages in which it comes to us, is it not 
unaccountable that the Love of God should 
excite so little corresponding love in our hearts ? 
How cold are we, at this moment! but yet, 
at other times, how proud and indifferent ! 
Brethren, if it be unbelief that checks the flow 
of affection, strive by all means against it. 
Be not slothful, but shew all diligence to the full 



THE STATE OF GRACE, 



389 



assurance of hope unto the end (Heb. vi. 11, 12), 
From this and other subjects, gather comfort 
and confidence. If there be the least spiritual 
in you, it came not thither by accident, but 
by the love wherewith he loved you— -for his 
great love wherewith he loved you. 

If the pure minds of the saints need to be 
thus stirred up by way of remembrance, what 
shall be said to the heedless part of the 
world, who, because they hear of a just and 
holy God, think of him with suspicion and 
dislike ? O righteous Father ! said Christ, the 
world hath not known thee (John xvii. 25). 
He, who came from the Father and was in 
the world, seems, in the close of his Farewell 
Prayer, to have summed up his reflections on 
mankind in these words — O righteous Father ! 
the world hath not known thee. Did they but 
know thee, they could not but love thee ! All, 
then, that is asked of you is this, Learn to think 
rightty of God : your views of all things will 
then be rectified : you will acquaint yourselves 
with him, and be at peace. 



\ 



SERMON XIX. 



CHRIST'S GRAND COMMISSION TO HIS 
APOSTLES. 



MATTHEW, XXVIII. 18—20. 

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 
All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations ; 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with 
you alway, even unto the end of the world. 

It is a favourite maxim with the world, that, 
provided we be punctual in fulfilling the moral 
duties of life, it is a matter of comparative in- 
difference what doctrines we believe. Some 
hold that the more mysterious articles of faith 
are purely speculative. 

Others, indeed, there are, laying claim to the 
name of Christ, who take upon themselves to 
deny them absolutely ; and assert openly, that 



I 



392 NINETEENTH SERMON. 

they may be received or rejected at pleasure. 
" Notions, so contrary to reason," they say, 
" are nowhere to be found in Scripture : they 
are only parts of a visionary system, raised by 
the superstition of the dark ages." But, of 
these, we take no notice at present : to heretical 
errors of this sort, we reserve our reply for a 
future part of our subject. 

For the present, we rather wish to notice 
those persons, who will not undertake, indeed, 
to disprove the doctrine of the Trinity; yet 
think it of no importance whether it be be- 
lieved : and, while they will not undertake to 
decide whether it be true or false, they imagine 
that, even on supposition of its truth, it need 
not be insisted on as absolutely necessary to be 
believed; that is, in other words, they hope, 
that if God should really appear at the Last 
Day subsisting in more Persons than one, the 
mistaken Unitarian shall yet find a gracious 
introduction to each of those two other Sacred 
Persons, whose worship he scoffed at and 
whose existence he denied. Let the impossi- 
bility of such a supposition be one argument 
for proving, that if the doctrine of the Trinity 
be true, it is not an indifferent matter whether 
we believe it. Let us judge of this matter in a 
parallel instance. 

Persons, from a mistaken charity, would 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 393 

fain have us persuaded that Socinianism and 
Atheism are venial errors ; but we have the same 
reason for believing that Paganism and Idolatry 
are excusable. The same argument for proving 
that the worship of many Gods is hateful to 
Jehovah, will also prove that the worship of 
God in one Person is equally so : and that if the 
former is Idolatry, the latter is Atheism. How- 
ever, we know how the Scripture decides on 
the subject of idolatry, notwithstanding the 
palliations advanced by enlightened moderns. 
Looking round to observe the different religions 
that prevail in the world, w e see each worship- 
per performing his adorations in his own way — 
one offering his sacrifice to Jehovah, another to 
the statue of Jupiter — one prostrating himself 
to the sun, and another to the devil. 

Now the reflections, which the Man of Rea- 
son makes, are — ' ' All these men are, in reality, 
worshipping the same true God : they do not, 
indeed, exactly discern the proper object of 
their worship ; but this is for want of better 
information : so far as they are sincere, they are 
all adoring the same Supreme Being, whether 
they call him Jehovah, Jove, or Lord." 

Thus far Reason ! but what says the Scrip- 
ture? — That to mistake the person whom we 
worship is a fatal mistake — that idolatry is not 
a venial error, but a cursed abomination which 



894 



NINETEENTH SERMON. 



involves the subjects of it in everlasting perdi- 
tion. Cursed be the man that makeih any graven 
or molten image (Deut. xxvii. 15). In this 
instance, you see, human reasoning and Scrip- 
ture are at variance. 

We may thus argue from what we have said : 
If there be one true God, then the idolater, 
who does not worship him as such, perishes for 
not doing it. Now I ask, if there be three Per- 
sons in the Godhead, each claiming divine 
worship, why shall not the Unitarian, for the 
same reason, perish under Atheism ? Why shall 
he not perish for only worshipping One Person 
in the Trinity, when he ought to have worship- 
ped Three ? He may not, peradventure, see 
the doctrine in Scripture ; but so many do not 
see the Gospel itself to be true : but what then, 
are they excused for not believing it? Hear! 
He, that believeth not, shall be damned (Mark 
xvi. 16). These all perish; not because they 
had a defect in their understandings or their 
reasoning powers, but because of their proud 
hearts : they would not submit their reason to 
the Word of God, though convinced of the 
divinity of that W ord. 

We are not now proving the doctrine in ques- 
tion ; but we beseech you to remember, that, if 
the doctrine of the Trinity be true, it is at the 
peril of our souls if we disbelieve it, One of 



christ s commission to his apostles. 895 

the direct evidences of this doctrine is found in 
a part of our text ; and this we shall notice, in 
its proper place. 

The words first read to you are the Fare- 
well Charge of Christ to his Disciples, before he 
ascended into heaven. 

We shall consider therein, first, Christ's 
command to them; and, secondly, their en- 
couragement TO OBEY IT. 

I. Christ's COMMAND : Go ye and teach all 
nations ; baptizing them in the Name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you. 

1. Formerly, during his life-time, while his 
work was yet confined, his commission to the 
Twelve was couched in this form : Go not into 
the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the 
Samaritans enter ye not ; but go rather to the 
lost sheep of the House of Israel (Matt. x. 5, 6). 

But Jesus had now died, not for that nation 
only, but that also he should gather together in 
one, the children of God that were scattered 
ahoad (John xi. 52). 

Now, therefore, the glorious hour was ar- 
rived, in the counsels of God, when Christ was 
to be given as a covenant to the people, to be 
God's salvation to the ends of the earth. The 



396 



NINETEENTH SERMON. 



middle wall of partition between Jew and Gen- 
tile was broken down : they who were afar off, 
were to be made nigh by the blood of Christ : 
peace was to be preached to them that were 
afar off, as well as to them that were nigh, that, 
through him, both might have access by one 
Spirit unto the Father. Now was the dawn of 
the Gospel- day, when the Gentiles should be 
fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and par- 
takers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel 
(Eph. iii. 6). Now must the promises be ful- 
filled, which declared that Christ should see of 
the travail of his soul and be satisfied : therefore 
he had poured out his soul unto death (Is. liii 
11, 12). Now, instead of the thorn must come 
up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar must come 
up the myrtle-tree (Is.lv. 13;) and the time 
must begin, when the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 
sea (Is. xi. 9. Hab. ii. 14). 

Go ye, and teach all nations, was the 
command. 

He does not specify the particulars of what 
they were to teach ; but blessed was the mes- 
sage, which they had to deliver. It was our 
Lords manner to be reserved on those topics 
which reflected honour on himself : even on the 
subject of his precious death, he never enlarged 
much : little more than that he should give his 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 397 



life a ransom for many (Matt. xx. 28). Greater 
love hath no man than this, that a man lay clown 
his life for his friends (John xv. 13). Instead of 
descanting at length on the particular subjects 
on which they were to preach, he rather chose 
to leave it to their own feelings : and they, no 
doubt, as sinners saved by grace, would not 
wait to be informed on what theme they were 
to dwell, nor be slow to deliver their mes- 
sage. They were to tarry at Jerusalem, indeed, 
for the promise of the Father — the gift of 
tongues from the Spirit : but they would not, 
like Jonah, flee from the presence of the Lord, 
when they had received his message ; nor, like 
Moses, say, lam not eloquent, hut sloivof speech, 
and of a slow tongue (Exod. iv. 10) — for who 
could fail to be eloquent on a subject so sweet, 
on a theme so divine ! No : they would say> 
having tasted that the Lord is gracious, " We 
have to preach among the Gentiles the unsearch- 
able riches of Christ. Does he command us to 
go and teach all nations ? We will go and 
teach them that faithful saying, and worthy of 
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners (1 Tim. i. 15) — that God 
so loved the world, that he gave his only-begot- 
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life (John iii. 16) 
—that the Son of man came to seek and to save 



398 



NINETEENTH SERMON. 



that which was lost (Lukexix. 10); and that 
all might come unto him to have life, being jus- 
tified freely by his grace through faith in Christ 
Jesus. Go ye, and teach all nations : Let the 
great trumpet be blown, that many may come 
who were ready to perish. 
Teach all nations — ■ 

" Let all the nations know 

To earth's remotest bound, 
The year of Jubilee is come — " 

— that now the price of redemption is paid 
down, the ransomed sinners may return home. 
The command was obeyed: as the angel 
flew through the midst of heaven, having the 
Everlasting Gospel to preach — and well he 
might fly upon such an errand — so each of 
these honoured servants of the Lord winged 
his way through the earth, one in one direction 
and another in another, proclaiming wherever 
they went the Gospel of the Grace of God. 
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the 
dwellers in Mesopotamia — Cretes and Arabians, 
heard them speak in their own tongues the won- 
derful works of God. Happy is it for us, that 
the stream of life thus opened by Christ, and 
permitted by him to have free course through 
the earth, has flowed even to the shores of India! 

Bless the Lord Jesus Christ, all ye his saints, 
that he ever gave this commission to his dis- 
ciples, and gave them grace to obey it. Here 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 399 



we are, actual and living monuments of the 
power of the Gospel : we have drunk of the 
tide of love contained in it, and find it to be 
indeed the Gospel of our Salvation. Had not 
the feet of him that brought good tidings 
appeared on the mountains of our island, 
publishing salvation and peace, we had per- 
haps at this moment been viewing with savage 
delight a dying fellow- creature, bleeding be- 
neath the knife of the murderous Druid ; 
whereas, behold us inclosed within the man- 
sions of our God ! On this spot, where perhaps 
nothing once was heard but the howling of the 
wolf, and the groans of men more miserable 
than they ; behold walls, sacred to Jehovah, 
which ring with the choral symphonies of 
heaven-born saints. 

2. Let us take the next thing in our text; and 
observe the form of initiation, with which 
the Apostles were to admit converts into the 
Christian communion. Go ye, and teach all 
nations ; baptizing them in the Name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 

It is a delusion, not unknown in the present 
day, that some pretend to abrogate all forms, as 
inconsistent with the spiritual nature of Chris- 
tianity ; and, accordingly, the two sacraments, 
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, are dismissed 
from their ritual. But h^re yc»u see baptism is 



400 



NINETEENTH SERMON, 



no invention of priests, no ceremony of human 
institution ; but derived from an authority which 
none can dispute. We do not say that it is any 
more than " an outward and visible sign of an 
inward and spiritual grace but no one, who 
has any regard to Christ, would dare to think 
slightly of an ordinance so expressly enjoined 
by him. 

The Form of Baptism is in the Name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
where you observe Three distinct Persons. 
Whatever be the exact import of this form, this 
is certain, that the Father and the Son and the 
Holy Ghost are equally interested in it. Ac- 
cording to some, it means, " Let your authority 
for baptizing and introducing to Christ's Church 
be the Name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost :" others, explaining it 
as it is in the Original, say that baptizing into 
the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost, means that the baptized per- 
sons are thereby dedicated to Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost. Whichever of these senses is the 
right one, or if there be any other sense more 
properly to be affixed to the words, it amounts 
to the same thing — the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost are equally and similarly the objects. 
If the Minister's commission to baptize, be the 
authority of the Father, it is also the authority 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 401 

of the Son, and the authority of the Holy Ghost : 
if the person is dedicated to the Father as God, 
he is also dedicated to the Son as God, and to 
the Holy Ghost as God. How the Son and 
Holy Ghost should have precisely the same 
right to every creature as the Father, and yet 
not be equal to him, is impossible to describe 
without blasphemy. If the Three Persons are 
not equal, why is there no inequality pointed 
out in the text? God hates idolatry, and we 
are prone to it ; yet here is a text directly tend- 
ing to mislead us into it, if the Three Persons 
are not equal. Yet these Three are One : for 
we are baptized, not into the names, but into 
the name — these Three Persons have but One 
Name. I am Jehovah, saith the Holy One : 
that is my name (Is. xlii. 8). 

3. The concluding part of our Lord's Charge 

is for THE REGULATING AND GOVERNING OP 

his church in all ages. Before, we had a 
Form: here, then, is Discipline — Teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you. 

A Church without discipline is in a state of 
no great purity : it has departed from the an- 
cient institutions of our Lord: and it is an 
unfavourable symptom of the present times, 
that the spirit of insubordination so pervades 
all species of characters, religious and irreligious, 

D D 



402 NINETEENTH SERMON. 

that Christian Churches are infected with it, 
The ministerial reproof in private, though ad • 
ministered with the utmost humility and lenity , 
is received with surprise, and often rejected 
with disdain. But when the Saviour com- 
manded his disciples to teach men all things 
whatsoever he taught them, did not his com- 
mission extend to private admonition? did he 
not design, that they should exhort and rebuke 
with authority ? was not Titus to rebuke with 
all authority ? (Tit. ii. 15). 

Teaching them to observe whatsoever I have 
commanded you. Observe this, Brethren : what* 
ever Christ commanded his disciples at first, 
that does he enjoin to you. When we come 
to the people of the world who call themselves 
Christians, and remind them of some self-deny- 
ing precepts of the Gospel not to be found 
in their lives — when we ask them, 4 'Do you 
know, that, according to Christ, Except a 
man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of 
God?" Their reply, in general, is, that that 
was only meant for the Heathens of thoso 
times ; and it is a convenient artifice to which 
they have often recourse, in order to shift the 
burden of different duties and the necessity of 
an inward change from themselves. But here 
we learn, that all that was delivered to the 
disciples is extended to us. 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 403 

Christ unfolded the will of God to a chosen 
few, that they might go abroad and explain it 
to the rest of us. M What ye hear in the car, 
that preach ye upon the house-tops (Matt. x. 27). 
Have ye heard from me, that ye are to be no 
more of the world, than I am of the world? 
— then go and tell them likewise, that the 
friendship of the world is enmity ivith God, 
Have I told you, that ye are to confess me 
before men ? — go and tell them to come out 
from among the world and be separate, and go 
forth without the camp bearing my reproach. 
Have I said, Ye must be born a^ain of 
the Spirit ? — let them know, that if any man 
be in Christ, he is a new creature. Have I 
commanded you to watch? — let them be 
warned, that what I say unto you I say unto all> 
Watch ! Whatsoever I have commanded you> 
teach them to observe." 

Think, Brethren, if the Lord Jesus had 
deferred the time of his coming to the present, 
would not he speak in the same manner to the 
present generation as to those of old ? — would 
he alter his tone ? — would he lower his stand- 
ard ? — would he coimtenance the present 
worldliness, and the dissipation of this city ? — 
would not he bear testimony against all ranks 
of people ? — would not he cry aloud, Except ye 
repent, ye shall all perish ? (Luke xiii. 3). What 



404 



NINETEENTH SERMON. 



would your conduct be as a Church, if he him- 
self were present teaching and commanding 
you ? what would be your heavenly-mindedness, 
strictness and punctuality in duty, and careful- 
ness to tread wherever you observe the footsteps 
of your Lord ? — such, precisely, ought to be your 
state now ; for nothing did he give his disciples, 
which can be applied to you, that was not 
intended for you. 

Thus we have set before you the particulars 
of our Lord's Charge to the Apostles. 

II. Let us now see what ENCOURAGEMENT 
he offered them for the fulfilment of it . 

He might have concluded that they needed 
no Encouragement. He might have said to one 
of them, ' 6 Peter! much has been forgiven thee : 
therefore, if thou lovest much, thou wilt not 
hesitate to feed my sheep." Simon, son of Jonas, 
lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; 
thou knoivest that I love thee. He saith unto 
him, Feed my sheep (Johnxxi. 16). But, not 
leaving it to their gratitude, he encourages them 
in a two-fold manner; by the Declaration of his 
Power, and by the Promise of his Presence. 

1 . All power is given unto me in heaven and 
in earth. 

To Christ, in his Divine character, no power 
could be given ; because all power is neces- 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 405 

sarilyhis, and has been so from eternity: but, 
in consequence of his undertaking to become 
the Servant of the Father for our salvation, 
appropriate language is used concerning him. 
Thus he speaks of himself as inferior to the 
Father; and the glory to which he ascended, as 
the reward of his labours : thus St. Paul speaks, 
in the Epistle to the Philippians, chap, ii, that 
Christ took upon him the form of a servant, and 
became obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross: wherefore God also hath highly exalted 
him, and given him a name which is above every 
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
bote : and that every tongue should confess that J e- 
sus Christ is Lord,to the gloiy of God the Father. 

When Christ thus spoke of that power which 
was given him as Mediator, this was a stronger 
ground of encouragement than a mere decla- 
ration of Divine Power: for this signified, that, 
as Mediator and capable of receiving any thing, 
he was the Head and Representative of his 
Church, and had received this power expressly 
for his Church. As he had died to purchase a 
Church to himself, so he had power given him 
to order the whole system of things for the bene- 
fit of that Church. So that the Revolutions of 
Empires are only some of the inferior movements 
of the system, whereby Christ is graciously work- 
ing in providence the redemption of his people. 



406 NINETEENTH SERMON. 

How animating must this assurance have been 
to the Apostles ! How cheerfully might they 
go forth to teach all nations, when they knew 
that the Lord whom they served was Lord of all 
the sons of men! According to Daniel's pro- 
phecy, there was given him dominion, and glory, 
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan- 
guages should serve him (Dan. vii. 14). 

How suitable was our Lord's mandate ! " All 
potver is given unto me ; therefore, go, penetrate 
the recesses of the wilderness, and teach your 
degraded fellow-creatures. Behold, I give unto 
you power to tread on serpents and scorpions. 
Fear not to enter the crowded cities of men, 
and preach the kingdom of God. They shall 
bring you before kings and rulers for my sake; but 
fear not: I will give you a mouth and wisdom, 
which all your adversaries shall not be able to 
gainsay nor resist. I send you as sheep in the 
midst of wolves; but fear not the power of earth 
and hell, for all things are delivered into my 
hand : You shall be troubled on every side, yet 
not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; 
persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not 
destroyed." 

And has not Christ, in all ages, with a strong 
hand and a stretched-out arm, fought for his 
Church, and brought it hitherto? How has he 
actually interfered for the deliverance of his 



Christ's commission to his apostles. 407 

servants ! Why need we mention Peter, whom 
an angel, sent from the Lord, liberated when 
bound to two soldiers; or Paul, who was de- 
livered from the persecuting malice of those 
Jews who bound themselves by a great oath to 
kill him? You yourselves, if you belong to 
Christ, will recollect numberless instances in 
which the Lord Jesus has interposed for your 
deliverance, from strong temptations of Satan, 
and the opposition of enemies — instances which 
prove that all things are delivered into his hands J 
that he, whom you serve, is one who is mighty to 
save (Is. lxiii. 1). 

2. The other ground of encouragement is 
contained in the remaining words of the text: — 
Lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
the world. 

This expression, to the end of the ivorld, shews 
that Christ was addressing not them only, but all 
who should hereafter believe on him through their 
word. " Though you are divided into sects and 
parties," says Christ, " I am with you all. I 
love you, though you have too little love one 
toward another." 

God signified his presence with his Church, 
of old, by various external emblems ; such as the 
pillar of cloud and fire,the shechinah, the mercy- 
seat, &c. These visible representations are^ 
of course, removed from the Christian Churchy 



m 3 



NINETEENTH SE11MON. 



according to its more spiritual institutions ; but 
the name of the city is still Jehovah Shammah — 
The Lord is there (Ezek. xlviii. 35). Though 
Christ left us for awhile to carry on our salvation 
for us in heaven, yet he might say, with St. Paul, 
Though I am absent in body, yet am I present 
with you in spirit. He walks in the midst of his 
seven golden candlesticks. He holds the stars 
in his right hand ; and as easily as any one can 
lift up his hand to his eyes, and turn it in any 
direction so as to see all that is in it, so can the 
Lord examine and weigh the spirits of men. 
Therefore let all the Churches know, and let all 
of this Church know, that Christ is He that 
searcheth the hearts and trieth the reins of the 
children of men. 

But he is with us likewise for good: Fear 
not, for I am with thee. How marvellously 
did he shew himself in visible glory to Stephen, 
waiting to receive the soul of the holy martyr ! 
Whenever Paul was in any great strait, imme- 
diately Christ was at hand : Fear not Paul, 
thou must he brought before Ccesar (Acts xxvii. 
24) — or, Be not afraid, for I am with thee 
(Acts xviii. 10) — or, My grace is sufficient for 
thee (2 Cor. xii. 9). 

Christ is a friend indeed : for when all others 
flee from us, He is then nearest to us. Thus 
St. Paul says, that, when he came before Nero, 



chkist's commission to his apostles. 409 

all men forsook him ; but the Lord stood with 
me, and strengthened me; and so we may gene- 
rally say, in the words of the Psalmist, In the 
multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts 
delight my soul (Psal. xciv. 19). His comforts 
are at hand when most they are needed : Lo ! 
I am tvith you alway. Earthly friends, like 
summer-flies, flit round us in the sun-shine of 
prosperity ; but who will be found to cheer 
our spirits in the cloudy and dark day but the 
Lord Jesus Christ? I am ivith you aliuay — not 
only in health and prosperity, to guard you 
from attachment to this world ; but I am with 
you when you struggle with adversity, poverty, 
sickness, persecution, temptations, trials of 
every kind. I am with you in life, to guard 
you from danger: I am with you in death, to 
give you the victory. 

What an encouragement must this be to the 
trembling disciples ! They might be bold to 
speak the Word without fear, and to endure all 
things for the Word of God and the testimony 
of Jesus, if He, who has all power in his hands, 
had promised to exert all that power for their 
protection. 

Let us now conclude with two or three 
REFLECTIONS. 

There has been, of late years, i.n the religious 



410 



NINETEENTH SERMON". 



world, a great diffusion of public spirit ; I 
mean, a desire of imparting the blessings of 
the Gospel to other nations. This idea is 
rather beyond the comprehension of the people 
of the world : they think it is Enthusiasm, pur- 
suing its object. Christianity, indeed, is good ; 
but they would rather leave it to spread by the 
gradual increase of civilization. But let none 
of these reflections deter us from assisting, 
according to our capacity, in the w ork of evan- 
gelizing the world, while Christ's command is 
so clear and his promise so strong. Though 
many difficulties oppose the propagation of the 
Gospel, yet these words encourage us to hope 
that it shall be universally known — that the 
gates of hell shall never prevail against the 
Church — that the seed, small as a mustard 
seed, shall become a great tree — that the ship, 
though tossed with tempests and weathering 
many a storm, shall be guided by its pilot 
safely into port — that the spiritual building, 
though apparently hindered in its progress, 
shall rise at last glorious from the ruins of the 
world. 

Let us next reflect, How insignificant are all 
the concerns of this w orld in the sight of Christ ! 
and they ought to be so to us. He says, Go ye 
into all nations and preach. But they might 
say, Have not we families to provide for, and 



CHttIST'3 COMMISSION TO HIS APOSTLES. 411 



friends to consult ? Must not Peter any more 
cast his nets for a livelihood, or Matthew sit at 
the receipt of custom ? The fact is, that Christ 
considered their ease and comfort in this world 
as a mere trifle ; and designs to teach you thereby, 
that to embrace the Gospel and obey it is your 
great business. He says to them, Go through 
the world, while your short life lasts, and pre- 
pare men for that eternal world which is close 
upon them. One thing is needful, and that is, 
not the business of this world, but of the next. 
This world is a mere nothing, except as in re- 
ference to eternity. It is only a pageant pass- 
ing by — a rivulet trickling into the boundless 
ocean — a school to educate us for an eternal 
existence — a hospital in which we are to recover 
from disease. May God teach my unconverted 
hearers this truth, that they may so number 
their days, that they may apply their hearts 
unto wisdom ! They dream of lasting enjoy- 
ments on this side the grave, and of happiness 
beyond it ; but let them collect the true state 
of their case from the text . You neither observe 
all things whatsoever Christ hath commanded, 
as the text speaks, nor is it your intention so to 
do : you would think it a very miserable state 
of restriction to be obliged to it : you are there- 
fore not of his Church. If you are not of his 
Church, all this power in his hands is not for 



412 



NINETEENTH SERMON. 



you, but against you. That arm, which grasps 
the thunderbolt and wields all the powers of 
the universe, will come down with dreadful 
weight on your heads, except you repent. He 
holds the keys of death and hell : one to open 
the gate through which the soul passes from the 
body; the other, to open that gate which trans- 
mits the soul into hell. He holds these keys 
— and, to-night or to-morrow, he may open 
them for you ! Now, therefore, turn to Him as a 
Saviour, through the influences of the Spirit ; so 
will you be added to his Church, interested in 
his promises, and enjoy with the rest of his 
saints a happy eternity. 



SERMON XX. 

CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



GALATIANS, VI. 10. 

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good 
unto all men, especially unto them who are of 
the household of faith. 

It is somewhat discouraging to observe, how 
many of our best efforts for the benefit of man- 
kind prove ineffectual. Money is given away 
in alms, and the object of our charity is after- 
wards found to have been not a proper one : 
institutions are set on foot for the instruction of 
the poor, many of whom use their knowledge 
to a mischievous purpose : measures are taken 
for the propagation of the Gospel, yet many of 
the schemes come to nothing. 

What then? Are we to sit still, and not act, 
till w T e are sure of all the success that we wish 
for? Let us look at the husbandman : he scat- 
ters the seed : some falls by the w r ay-side, and 
the birds eat it — some, where there is not earth 
enough, and when it grows up, is scorched. 



414 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



and withers — some among thorns, which spring 
up and choke it: a part only falls into good 
ground; and, of that part, it is but a small 
quantity that brings forth a hundred-fold : yet, 
in the hope of a harvest of some kind, he works 
on. So let us work— acting to the best of our 
judgment, and putting forth our strength ; be- 
cause, whatever be the success of our plans in 
this world, we shall not lose our reward in the 
next. 

It is upon the certainty of a future reward, 
that St. Paul grounds the exhortation of the 
text : In due season we shall reap, if we faint 
not : therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do 
good unto all men. 

This is the duty which we must first incul- 
cate : next in order, though not in importance, 
is the duty of paying particular attention to the 
Household of Faith. 

I. Of the DUTY OF DOING GOOD UNTO ALL 
MEN, we have heard a great deal more than 
enough of late years, under the name of Philan- 
thropy, or universal benevolence. 

There is certainly something imposing in the 
idea of an ardent charity, which, disdaining the 
narrow limits of personal relation, is impatient 
to have its energies felt at the extremities of the 
system. But the misfortune is, that it is but an 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



415 



idea, the nature of things presenting an insur- 
mountable barrier to its ever being realized in 
practice : for the world is evidently so consti- 
tuted, that we cannot act upon things remote, 
except through the medium of that which is 
near : indeed, it is impossible to conceive, how 
any being of limited powers can act imme- 
diately upon any thing but that which is con- 
tiguous to it : our experience, at least, is 
entirely against the probability of the existence 
of such a power ; every thing that we see being 
a system, each part of which can act only upon 
its neighbour. In the human frame, in the 
body politic, in the material world, effects are 
for the most part produced by a process : an 
impulse is given to one part, which is commu- 
nicated to the rest in succession, and then 
comes out the result. And though this mode 
of operation appears tedious to those who can- 
not keep more than one end in view at the same 
moment, it is wisely appointed by God ; for, in 
this way, all the parts of his vast system come 
into use in their turn, and nothing is so insig- 
nificant as that it may be dispensed with. 

Such, then, being the constitution of things, 
it is trifling to talk about doing good to ail 
men, if the nearer relations in which we stand 
to others are overlooked; and if such be all 
that is meant by Philanthropy, it is worse than 



419 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



Bigotry. The Bigot does do good in his little 
circle ; but the Philanthrophist, by attempting 
too much, does nothing. 

From these observations it will be seen how 
properly the Apostle has qualified the precept 
of universal beneficence. As ive have oppor- 
tunity, let us do good unto all men. With 
equal accuracy is the great Christian Precept 
expressed — Love thy neighbour as thyself; 
since it directs to that which is really practi- 
cable in the theory of universal benevolence, 
and to no more. For who is our neighbour ? 
every one that comes within the sphere of our 
action, our observation, our knowledge : all 
beyond are as though they were not. If there 
be any thing of which we form no idea, we 
cannot be affected with love or hatred to it. 

It may be here allowed us to remark, that 
human systems of morality, constructed on a 
plan apparently more large and liberal than 
that of the Gospel, deserve very little attention ; 
for what is really to the purpose in them, was 
found in the Gospel, long before : all the rest 
is most probably crude, imposed only upon 
inexperience; and is so far from arguing any 
superiority of mind, that the love of such 
theories rather proves a mediocrity of intellec- 
tual power : for all extremes, while they have a 
grandeur which captivates^ are simple; on 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



411 



which account minds of a narrow span com- 
prehend them easily. Hence it is, that the 
young and weak are pleased with romances, 
where the coincidences are exa*ct and the 
events extravagant. Hence, also, arise many 
of those struggles in states, which keep the 
world in perpetual agitation : for the com- 
monalty, who will neither reason themselves 
nor profit by the experience of others, are ever 
hurrying to extremes : dissatisfied with monar- 
chical government, they rush at once to anar- 
chy : weary of this, they go all the way back 
again to slavery. Thus weak man is like the 
restless ocean, which is but for a moment at 
its proper level ; or like the tremulous needle, 
which requires time and a steady hand, before 
it lies true. The same species of imbecility 
is apparent in all our intercourse with one 
another : disliking one or two parts of a 
person's character, we condemn him altogether 
— for the sake of as many good qualities, we 
bestow upon him unqualified praise. 

To avoid extremes, is the part of wisdom. 
A child can lay his hand on the ends of things, 
but to find the middle requires reasoning. 
The wise will check the precipitation of the 
foolish — will except against sweeping changes 
—and, considering that nothing on earth is so 
bad but there is some good in it, and nothing 



418 



TWENTIETH SERMON". 



human so good but it has something bad in it, 
will perceive, that to destroy a whole system 
because some parts are out of order, is the 
way to leave us no good at all ; and that to 
construct new ones, without noticing the pos- 
sibilities of things and the state of imperfection 
in which we are, is only to waste time and 
make room for disappointment. 

Happy are we in the possession of that Book 
of Wisdom, which marks its superiority to 
the flimsy productions of visionaries, by adapt- 
ing itself to the circumstances of real life, and 
pointing out a certain and intelligible method 
of attaining perfection, 

Let that precept of it, which, though some- 
what resembling the inapplicable rule of 
theorists, differs widely from it in reality, be 
now attended to. 

Do good unto all men. Let your charity 
begin at home, but do not let it end there. 
Do good to your family and connections ; and, 
if you please, to your party : but, after that, 
look abroad. Look at the universal Church, 
and, forgetting its divisions, be a Catholic 
Christian — look at your country, and be a 
patriot— look at the nations of the earth, and 
be a philanthropist. 

Against the possibility of assisting any but 
their friends, some will plead their penury : 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



419 



the stream of their bounty is too scantily 
supplied to flow beyond the limits of their 
own ground. Be it so. May it refresh and 
fertilize all within! God neither requires im- 
possibilities, nor loves disorder. On- the con- 
trary, he would have us adhere to his own 
arrangements ; and, if we cannot do all that 
we would, is satisfied if we do all that we can. 

To those who really have no opportunity, we 
do not speak — to the rest, we do. Your wealth 
is itself an opportunity ; and unless, from the 
desire of aggrandizing your families, you prefer 
to let it accumulate at home, you have it in 
your power to bless many around you : you 
may contribute to the support of Hospitals, 
Schools, and other Benevolent Institutions 
here or at home, making the selection in favour 
of those which promise to be most extensively 
useful. 

But it may be right to suggest to all, that, as 
the happiness of man is more connected with 
the state of his mind than his body, you may, 
by seasonable advice and consolation, do infi- 
nitely more to make him happy, than by im- 
proving his temporal circumstances. Hence 
those, to whom age and experience have given 
wisdom, should notice the young and unpro- 
tected ; especially those, who, on their first 
arrival in this country, find themselves without 

E E 2 



420 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



a guide. Persons who have many dependants 
or whose influence over others is extensive, 
and those who live in the neighbourhood of 
large bodies of men or are in the way of meet- 
ing with a variety of persons, and those who 
have knowledge of different languages or might 
easily acquire them, should remember that 
they perform an acceptable service to God and 
man, if they make use of their opportunities by 
communicating religious knowledge. Let them 
know that he ivhich converteth the sinner from 
the error of his ivay, shall save a soul from death, 
and shall hide a multitude of sins (James v. 20). 
They that he ivise shall shine as the brightness 
of the firmament; and they that turn many to 
righteousness , as the stars for ever and ever (Dan. 
xii. 3). 

Animated by the promise of these high 
rewards, let us be instant in season and out of 
season, with benevolent assiduity; watching 
for opportunities of doing good ; and exercising 
our minds in considering, in what way our 
means may be employed with the best effect. 

The intelligent Christian will perceive the 
advantage which accrues from the combination 
of strength, and will gladly embrace the op- 
portunity of acting in conjunction with others : 
for the power of Associated Bodies is incal- 
culably greater, than the aggregate of the 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



421 



powers of the component parts ; because wis- 
dom and strength are brought together in them . 

On this ground, we recommend your becom- 
ing members of some of the various Asso- 
ciations for benevolent purposes, by which the 
commencement of the Nineteenth Century is 
distinguished. Among these, the British and 
Foreign Bible Society undoubtedly holds the 
most distinguished place; whether we consider 
the simplicity of the means which it uses, or the 
grandeur of its object. 

The reasons which exist for such a Society, 
the specific object which it embraces, and the 
principles by which its operations are directed, 
will be best explained by their own Adver- 
tisement: — 

" The reasons which call for such an Institu- 
tion, chiefly refer to the prevalence of ignorance, 
superstition, and idolatry, over so large a por- 
tion of the world — the limited nature of the 
respectable Societies now in existence, and their 
acknowledged insufficiency to supply the de- 
mand for Bibles in the United Kingdom and 
Foreign Countries — and the recent attempts, 
which have been made on the part of Infidelity, 
to discredit the evidence, vilify the character, 
and destroy the influence of Christianity. The 
exclusive object of this Society is, to diffuse the 
knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, by cir- 



422 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



culating them in the different languages through- 
out Great Britain and Ireland; and, also, ac- 
cording to the extent of its funds, by promoting 
the printing of them in foreign languages and the 
distribution of them in foreign countries. The 
principles upon which this undertaking will be 
conducted, are as comprehensive as the nature 
of the object suggests that they should be: in 
the execution of the plan, it is proposed to em- 
brace the common support of Christians at 
large; and to invite the concurrence of persons 
of every description, who profess to regard the 
Scripture as the proper standard of faith." 

In this statement, there are two things to 
which it will be proper to call your attention. 

The first is, that the exclusive object of the 
Society is, to promote the Circulation of the 
Scriptures: they neither disperse Religious 
Tracts, nor are connected with any Missionary 
Society : their only wish is to put the Sacred 
Text within the reach of every human being. 
You may be assured, that they will not depart 
from this rule, because the very existence of the 
Society depends upon their adherence to it. 
The certainty that nothing will be given but the 
Bible, and that without note or comment, is the 
only principle upon which Christians of all de- 
nominations will unite in it, or could do so legiti- 
mately. . • 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



423 



You will observe, secondly, that they profess 
to begin with their native country; and to 
proceed, as their funds shall admit, to the dis- 
tribution of the Scriptures in foreign lands. 

The friends of the Bible Society in India, 
acting upon the same principle, have endea- 
voured to ascertain the order of the respective 
claims of the various classes of persons in India- 
claims arising from their relation to us, or their 
own wants. 

The European Regiments, now in the country, 
having been already supplied with the English 
Scriptures, it became a duty to consider to 
whom next they should direct their attention. 

This point was soon determined, and they 
feel no doubt, that the British Public in India 
will entirely agree with them, in considering the 
state of the Native Christians, as requiring 
immediate attention. 

Their present object being of considerable 
magnitude, they feel themselves justified in re- 
questing assistance; and, from a view of its 
obvious propriety, they have no hesitation in 
believing, that their countrymen will cordially 
co-operate with them in the execution of their 
plan. 

Let me be allowed to exhort you to this good 
work, while I prosecute my subject. 



424 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



II. We are commanded to do good unto all 
men, but especially to them who are of the 
HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH. 

We should, indeed, be always superior to 
those petty prejudices and partialities, which 
confine and cramp the energies of many ; and 
should imitate the grace of Him, who maketh 
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and 
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 
(Matt. v. 45). 

But we shall also be following the method of 
his grace, by doing good, more especially, to the 
Household of Faith. The Lord is good to all, 
and his tender mercies are over all his works 
(Ps. cxlv. 9); but, The Lord loveth the gates of 
Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Ps. 
Ixxxvii. 2). And so ought we. The Household 
of Faith should be our peculiar care. 

The consideration of this duty we proposed 
to make the second part of our subject. 

The household of faith means all those, who 
believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and are bap- 
tized in his name. All these are one ; united to 
one another in him, as the Lord hath said, I in 
them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect 
in one (John xvii. 23). In this their united 
capacity, they are often compared to a Body, 
of which Christ is the Head ; sometimes to a 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



425 



Building, of which he is the Foundation ; but, 
here, to a Family, of which God is the Father. 

The last representation was the most ap- 
propriate in this place ; for, because we are 
naturally disposed to benefit our own families, 
it was proper to remind us that all believers 
in Christ are a part of the same family as our- 
selves. The account which we have of this 
family in the Word of God is, that they were 
once strangers and foreigners, but are now 
become the children of God hy faith in Christ 
Jesus. They receive the Spirit of adoption, 
and are led by him ; and, being children they 
are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with 
Christ (Ephes. ii. 19. Gal. iii. 26. Rom. viii. 
14—17). 

The individuals which compose the family 
are connected with one another, by bonds 
more indissoluble far than the tie of consan- 
guinity. In earthly families, the father dies, 
and the children separate ; and they are seldom 
cordially united, though they live together : 
they neither form one body, nor are animated 
by one spirit, nor pursue the same ends, nor 
correspond in taste and inclination, nor serve 
the same master ; but, choosing each a different 
profession, they leave their home as fast as 
opportunities are afforded them, and at last 
seem almost to forget that they ever lived under 



426 TWENTIETH SEIIMOjNT. 

the same roof. Not so the Family of Faith : 
there, there is one body and one spirit ; as they 
are called also in one hope of their calling ; one 
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and 
Father of all, who is above all, and through all, 
and in them all (Eph. iv. 4 — 6) : bound thus 
together by every tie, are we not affectionately 
exclaiming with the Psalmist, Peace he within 
thy iv alls, and prosperity within thy palaces ! 
For my brethren and companions' sokes, I 
will now say, Peace be within thee? (PsaL 
cxxii. 7, 8). 

We will take it for granted that this is the 
sentiment of your hearts. 

Only two things, therefore, remain to be 
considered : first, Where is this family to be 
found ? and, secondly, What can be done for 
them ? 

The first question we have already answered : 
you need not go out of India to look for the 
family : they dwell in the land, and are natives 
of it : and the only favour which we ask for 
them is, the present of a bible. 

The Native Christians of India may be ar- 
ranged, according to their languages, in four 
divisions : — 

1. The Portuguese, of whom there are 
about 50,000. 

On the Malabar Coast alone, there are 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



36,000 ;* at Calcutta, 7000 ; in Ceylon, 5000. 
Besides these, there are settlements of Por- 
tuguese all along the coast, from Madras to 
Cape Comorin ; and families of them are to be 
found in all the principal towns on the Ganges 
and Jumna. They are more or less mixed 
with the Natives ; and their language has, in 
consequence, lost much of its purity : but there 
is no reason to believe that the Version of the 
Scriptures, in the pure Portuguese, would not 
be perfectly intelligible and highly acceptable 
to them. Copies of the Portuguese Scriptures 
could be procured immediately from England : 
and they might be put into circulation without 
difficulty ; because here, as well as in Europe, 
the Roman Catholic Priests are no longer 
averse to the translation and dispersion of the 
Scriptures, t 

* Adam's Religious World Displayed, Vol. i. p. 211. 
+ Extract of a Letter from Dr. John, dated Tranquebar, 15th 
November, 1809 : — " The Portuguese Old and New Testament 
would be most acceptable, and a blessing, not only to Porfcu_ 
guese Protestants, but also to many Roman-Catholic Padres 
and Christians, at Madras, St. Thome, Sadras, Pondicherry, 
Cuddalore, Porto Novo, Tranquehar, Tanjore, Manaar, 
Ceylon, and in short at all the other chief places, as far as Goa 
and Bombay. Many of the Roman Catholics are not so averse 
to the reading of the Bible as before, and many even request 
them from us." To which I add, that Antonio, a Roman- 
Catholic Missionary, at Boglepoor, on the Ganges, has trans- 
lated the Gospels and the Acts into the dialect of the people of 
that disirict. Sebastiani, late a Missionary in Persia, has 
almost finished a Version of the New Testament, in Persian, 



428 



TWENTIETH SERMON". 



2. The next class of Christians to be noticed 
are those of tanjore, who were converted to 
the Christian Faith, chiefly by the labours of 
Swartz. 

They are in number about 12,000, and speak 
the Tarrmi . A Version of the Scriptures, in 
this language, was made long ago by Fabricius, 
one of the Danish Missionaries, who devoted 
his whole life to the work.* 

These people are all Protestants : every one 
of them can read the Biblef : and thjeir desire 

* The excellence of his Version, is thus attested : — 
Extract of a Letter from the Rev. Marmaduke Thompson^ 
Madras. " In answer to your question, 4 Did Fabricius trans- 
late and print the Old Testament, or any part of it?' I am 
happy to tell you, (considering his universally acknowledged 
talents, as a Tamul Scholar) he translated the whole. The 
translation was executed with the greatest care. Mr. Fabricius, 
having carefully prepared his translation, sent it, sheet by sheet* 
to the Missionaries at Cuddalore, Gericke and Hutteman, for 
examination and correction : from them, it passed to the Danish 
Missionaries, who were then numerous, and of most respectable 
talents; and, from them, to the Native Translator to the Da- 
nish Government; and then returned, with their notes, correc- 
tions, &c, to Mr. Fabricius, by whom it was completely revised 
and sent to Tranquebar to be printed, under the especial care 
of two Missionaries, of whom Dr. Rottler was one ; and they 
spared, he tells me, no pains to have it executed most correctly, 
which it is generally thought to be. Dr. John writes me, that 
the late Mr. Fabricius was, in respect of the Tamul Language, 
superior to his cotemporary brethren, especially in writing, in 
which he was engaged at home, the greatest part of his life* 
Fabricius died at the age of SO." 

t Dr. Buehanau , «; Letters from the Coast, 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



429 



to be more fully supplied with the Scriptures, 
appears from a Letter sent by the Missionaries 
who superintend them.* 

Last year, at the present season, these cir- 
cumstances were stated to you ; and, with a 

* Extract of a Letter from Messrs. Kohlofi and Horst to Mr. 
Brown: — " With the most lively emotion of joy and gratitude, 
we adore the loving-kindness and mercy of our dear Lord, who 
hath disposed the respected Bible Society to afford us thei r 
benign assistance for diffusing the divine light of the Holy 
Scriptures, among so many thousand souls, who are perishing 
for lack of knowledge. May the Lord crown the pious designs 
of that worthy Society with the most ample success, and them- 
selves with righteousness, life, and glory everlasting ! 

" We are in the utmost want of Tamul Bibles ; and likewise 
of Portuguese, though not to the same extent. 

" The number of Native Protestants belonging to the Tan- 
jore Mission alone, including the Tinnevelly District, amounts 
nearly to twelve thousand ; none of whom (the Native Teachers 
excepted) has any Old Testament, and not one in two or three 
hundred has even the New Testament. Almost all the men, 
particularly to the south of Tanjore, know how to read, and are 
very eager after books. If only every tenth person among 
them had a copy of the Holy Scriptures, we should soon see the 
Word of Christ dwelling in them richly in all wisdom, and his 
saving knowledge spread among their Heathen and Popish 
Neighbours. 

" Our Portuguese Christians are likewise in great want of 
Bibles. 

" The Madras edition of the Tamul New Testament ought 
to be our standard, it being the work of that unparalleled 
Tamul Scholar and Poet, Mr. Fabricius; whose diction is 
much more classical and elegant than that of the Tranquebar 
Translators, though their translation is faithful enough. Mr. 
Fabricius was likewise an excellent Portuguese Scholar and 
Poet." . 



430 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



readiness and affection which will long be 
remembered, you came forward at once to 
assist your brethren. The donations of a few 
individuals were deemed sufficient to supply 
their immediate wants ; but we are persuaded 
that still greater exertions would have been 
made, had the occasion required them. I am 
now authorised to inform you, that 500 Old 
Testaments, 400 New, and 300 Psalters, in 
Tamul; 200 Old Testaments, 150 New, and 
500 Psalters, in Portuguese — have been pur- 
chased and distributed.* 

That we may be able to render them further 
assistance and anticipate their future wants, a 
new edition of the Scriptures in Tamul should 
be instantly prepared, and for this nothing is 

* The receipt of these is thus acknowledged by the Mis- 
sionaries, Kohloff and Horst, (in a Letter dated Tanjore, 21st 
April, 1810), with the most fervent gratitude: — "We, and 
those among our Christians that have been apprised of it, 
acknowledge and revere the pious solicitude of your worthy 
Committee, for the spiritual welfare of our flocks and for the 
conversion of the Gentiles on the coast, which hath prompted 
you so liberally to dispense unto those poor Natives the in- 
valuable treasures of the Word of God. Rest assured, Worthy 
Sir, that this generous contribution for relieving the spiritual 
wants of the Tamulers, hitherto unparalleled among the Eu- 
ropean Gentlemen in India, will be amply repaid by the ac- 
quisition of many souls to the Kingdom of Christ ; and by the 
heavenly joy which the pious and liberal contributors will feel, 
when so many saints brought to Jesus by the Divine Word of 
Salvation, distributed to them by your Committee, shall hail 
them and you as the authors of their everlasting bliss." 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 431 

wanting but funds. There are Tamul presses 
at Tranquebar and Vepery, and persons to 
superintend them. 

3. The third class of Christians are those 
who speak the malayalim, or Malabar. 

These are, first, the Roman Catholics, in 
number 150,000 ; composed partly of converts 
from Heathenism, and partly of proselytes from 
the Syrian church ! * 

And, secondly, the Syrians, who retain their 
ancient Form of Worship. No estimate has 
been made of their population, but the number 
of their Churches is ascertained to be fifty-five. 
There are then, perhaps, not fewer than 200,000 
Christians who use the Malabar Language.f A 
Translation of the Scriptures into it was under- 
taken, four years ago, by their Bishop, assisted 
by some of his Clergy ; and it is presumed, 
that the work is going on.+ The Four Gospels 
are in the Press, at Bombay ; and nearly printed 
ofF.§ Syriac being formerly spoken by these 

* Adam's Religious World Displayed, Vol. I. p. 211. 

+ Rev. Dr. Buchanan's Letters from the Coast. 

£ In Cordiner's Description of Ceylon, page 156, it is said, 
that all the New, and great part of the Old Testament, in Mala- 
bar, were printed and published by the Dutch Clergy, at Co- 
lumbo : but by the Malabar is probably meant the Tamul. 

^ The Four Gospels were submitted to the judgment of Dr. 
Robert Drummond, of the Presidency of Bombay, Author of 
the Malabar Grammar ; who reported that he considered it to 
be a faithful version of the Sacred Original, and intelligible to 
the common people. 



432 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



mountaineers, their Liturgy and Scriptures are 
in that language. " The Priests occasionally 
expound the Scriptures in the Malayalim to the 
people ; but this good custom, like many others, 
is gradually falling into disuse. Some of the 
people understand the Syrian Prayers, but the 
Syrian Language is not used in common dis- 
course. Some of the Elders of the Church 
were asked, whether they were willing to diffuse 
the Malayalim Scriptures, if they were aided 
in the expense : < We are most willing,' they 
said : one of them added, 6 The truth is, that in 
former times, all our people understood the 
Syriac ; but, in the lapse of ages, the language 
of the country superseded it: a Malayalim 
Translation ought certainly to have been made, 
before now; but we have had, in later times, 
neither learned men nor competent means : our 
Three Colleges have been destroyed: and, 
being often left without a Bishop, Ruler, or 
Representative, we have suffered, from time to 
time, from the exactions of the Rajah's Minis- 
ters : nothing could have saved us, but the 
peaceful demeanor and Christian conduct of our 
people : as to your proposal of circulating the 
Scriptures in the vernacular tongue, all the 
Fathers of our Church will unite with me in 
declaring, that we will most cheerfully do it, if 
we have the means to effect so good a work.' 
One of the Elders stepped forward, and said, 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



4S3 



* To convince you of our earnest desire to have 
the Bible in the Malayalim Tongue, I need only 
mention, that I have lately translated the Go- 
spel of St. Matthew, for the benefit of my own 
children: it is often borrowed by the other 
families : it is not in fine language, but the 
people love to read it.' It was then proposed 
to them, that a standard translation of the 
Malayalim should be prepared and sent to each 
of the Fifty-five Churches, on condition that 
each Church should multiply the copies and 
circulate them among the people : 6 We accept 
your offer,' said the Priests, * with thankfulness.' 
One, in particular, said, ' 1 engage for the 
heads of families in this parish, that every man 
who can write, will be happy to make a copy of 
the Scriptures for his own family.' "* 

It was before mentioned, that 150,000 Ro- 
man-Catholic Christians use the same language ; 
to which it may be here added, that the 
Romish Bishop, the Vicar Apostolic of the 
Pope in India, has consented to the circu- 
lation of the Scriptures throughout his Dio- 
cese; so that there are upward of 200,000 per- 
sons who are ready to receive the Malayalim 
Bible. 

4. We come now to the fourth and last 
class of Native Christians, the Cingalese. 

* Rev. Dr. Buchanan's Letters from the Coast 

r f 



434 



TWENTIETH SERMON". 



In the Island of Ceylon, in the year 1 80 1 , the 
number of Native Schools amounted to one 
hundred and seventy ; and the number of 
Native Protestant Christians exceeded 342,000. 
The Christians professing the religion of the 
Church of Rome, are supposed to be still more 
numerous.* 

No part of India offers such encourage- 
ments to attempts at moral improvement, as 
Ceylon.t 

The New Testament has been translated into 
Cingalese, and printed at Columbo at the 
charge of Government, for the purpose of sup- 

*At Columbo, the highest ranks of Natives profess Chris- 
tianity ; and such of them, as have received the benefit of a good 
education, are more conscientious and respectable than their 
Heathen Neighbours. C or diner s Des crip lion of Ceylon. 

+ The state of religion in Ceylon is very different from that of 
any country on the Continent of India. Here, the ancient form 
of worship is almost totally forgotten; and the inhabitants live 
in uninstructed ignorance, perfectly free both from prejudice 
and bigotry. They have so long wandered in darkness, that 
they gladly follow the least glimmerings of light. The first 
openings of religious knowledge are received by them with 
transport; and they look up with adoration, to any person who 
bestows pains in endeavouring to teach them. The arguments, 
therefore, which have been advanced against attempting to 
introduce Christianity amongst the more polished nations of the 
East, are entirely void, when applied to the uncultivated people 
of this Island. There is no doubt, that if ever the Government 
of England pay attention to this subject, the Religion of Christ 
will become as.clearly understood and as well practised in Cej» 
Jon, as in any part of the King's dominions. Ibid. 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



436 



plying the Natives professing Christianity. 
For this information, the Bible Society, from 
whose last Report we have obtained it, profess 
themselves indebted to Sir Alexander John- 
stone, late Chief Justice in that Island ; and, 
in consequence of his representation, they have 
determined to appropriate as much as can be 
spared from the expenses necessarily attending 
the execution of their vast plans, to promote 
the circulation of the Cingalese Scriptures. 

But must this be suffered? Do we not 
blush at the offers of assistance from home, 
where funds are raised with such difficulty, not 
for want of good- will in the people but from 
the unexampled pressure of the times ; and 
where also all that is raised may be employed 
with such effect, in benefiting the other three 
quarters of the globe ? Asia must be our 
care ; or, if not Asia, INDIA at least must look 
to none but us. Honour calls, as well as duty: 
your reputation for liberality requires, that you 
render their assistance unnecessary. Let us 
make haste, then, and anticipate their supplies ; 
and thus prove to our friends and the world, 
that the Mother Country need never be ashamed 
of her sons in India. 

What a splendid spectacle does she pre- 
sent ! Standing firm amidst the overthrow of 
the nations, and spreading wide the shadow of 



436 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



her wings for the protection of all, she finds 
herself at leisure, amidst the tumult of war, to 
form benevolent projects for the best interests 
of mankind. Her Generals and Admirals 
have caused the thunder of her power to be 
heard throughout the earth : now her Ministers 
of Religion perform their part ; and endeavour 
to fulfil the high destinies of heaven in favour of 
their country. They called on their fellow- 
citizens to cheer the desponding nations, with 
the Book of the Promises of Eternal Life ; and 
thus afford them that consolation from the 
prospect of a happier world, which they have 
little expectation of finding amidst the disasters 
and calamities of this. The summons was 
obeyed. As fast as the nature of the under- 
taking became understood, and was perceived 
to be clearly distinct from all party business 
and visionary project, great numbers, of all 
ranks in society and of all persuasions in reli- 
gion, joined, with one heart and one soul, and 
began to impart freely to all men that which, 
next to the Saviour, is God's best gift to man. 

The example first set by a few has produced, 
as you will perceive by their Report, a holy 
emulation through the land. Auxiliary Soci- 
eties are forming from town to town, to take 
charge of their respective vicinities, and to 
aid the Parent Institution. It is now time that 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



437 



we should step forward. Shall every town and 
hamlet in England engage in the glorious 
cause, and the mighty empire of India do no- 
thing ? Will not our wealth and dignity be our 
disgrace/ if we do not employ it for God and 
our fellow-creatures ? What plan could be pro- 
posed, so little open to objections, and so 
becoming our national character and religion — 
so simple and practicable, yet so extensively 
beneficial — as that of giving the Word of God 
to the Christian Part of our Native Subjects'? 
Nothing of a questionable shape has been 
brought before you : we contend for nothing, 
the propriety of which can be disputed. We 
call you to the discharge of an acknowledged 
duty — the duty of being charitable to Chris- 
tians. There are, as you have seen, no less 
than 900,000 Christians close at hand. Many 
of them are relapsing fast to idolatry, and are 
already indeed little better than Heathens :* 

* At Aughoor, near Trichinopoly, there is a union of Romish 
Ceremonies and Pagan Superstitions. They have their rutt, or 
car. I examined the rutt. It is built in the usual manner, with 
their cables to pull it ; only that, instead of the Hindoo De- 
vices, it has got Hell and the Devils on the lower part, Heaven 
and the Blessed in the higher, and, above all, the Pope and 
Cardinals ! The Priest is so ignorant, that he did not seem 
conscious of any impropriety in having the rutt. I asked him 
how many thousands of Christians attended the festival : he 
said generally about 10,000, which number corresponds with the 
Report of the Collector of the District. 

At Manaar, I embarked in an open boat for Ramisseram. 

A storm 



438 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



yet they are for ever broken off from their 

parent stock : they have left their castes : they 
cannot be received back again, and have none 
to whom they can look but us. Are we then to 
cast them back ? — or, which is nearly the same, 
to continue to neglect them? — and thus exhibit, 
as we have too long done, to their Heathen and 
Mahomedan Neighbours, a dreadful specimen 
of what Christianity would do for them ; for, of 
all the Christians whom they see, they must 
observe, that the greater number know nothing 
about their religion, and that those who have 
light have no love. It was truly said by St. 
Paul concerning him who on any pretence 
did not provide for his own, and especially for 
them of his own house, that he had denied the 
faith, and is worse than an infidel (1 Tim. v. 8). 
Truly, if we provide not for these, we shall be 
worse than the Mahomedans, who consider 

A storm arose, and I went onshore al a fishing village, situated 
near the north-west extremity of the island Manaar. They were 
all Romish Christians, and I slept in their Church. The Priest 
was absent, and his Catechist had never heard that there was such 
a book as the Bible, My own boatmen were Christians, but 
had never heard of the Bible. 

The rutt is attached to the Church of Tutycorin, as at Aug- 
hoor. The Priest told me he walked before it in procession. In 
the Hindoo Temples it is usual to ring bells and strike gongs, the 
moment the idol is unveiled. In analogy to this, bells are rung 
and drums beat at Tutycorin when the Virgin Mary is unveiled. 
— ll»v . Dr y Buchu ruin's Letters from thf Coast. 



CHRISTIAN' INDIA. 



439 



their proselytes as entitled to their regard : we 
shall be reversing the Christian Rule; and, 
instead of loving our enemies, shall be hating 
our friends. 

Permit us to plead their cause : we beg that 
you will love and help them, as branches of 
your own family. 

Mention not their meanness : it is yours to 
raise them from degradation. Despise not 
their inferiority, nor reproach them for their 
errors : they cannot get a bible to read : had 
they been blessed with your advantages, they 
would have been perhaps more worthy of your 
respect. It has been said, with too much 
truth, that they scarcely deserve the name of 
Christians : how is it possible that it should be 
otherwise, without the Bible ; when it is con- 
sidered how little oral instruction they receive ! 
If the Jews, with all the care that was taken 
of them, and the discipline to which they were 
subjected, could not escape the contagion to 
which their situation exposed them, is it to be 
expected that these poor people, whom any 
man may trample on, should ? Can the un- 
enlightened and uninformed be proof against 
the seductions of idolatry? The ridiculous 
ceremonies of the Heathen Worship, the tawdry 
splendor of their exhibitions,their songs and their 
flowers and their festivities, though exciting in 



440 



TWENTIETH 



SERMON". 



us only aversion and disgust, have a mighty 
importance in the mind of a feeble Indian ; and 
always will have, till the tone of sentiment be 
raised. The Bible would elevate his views : 
and there seems no other way of doing it ; for 
it must be recollected, that these persons have 
no books, as we have, to supply, in some mea- 
sure, the want of the Bible — books interspersed 
with passages of Scripture, pointing out the 
way to eternal life. 

" But have not they teachers?" you will ask. 
Yes, here and there one is to be found ; but 
the number hardly deserves notice, when the 
wants of the people are considered. And how 
can Europe continue to send Missionaries to a 
population continually increasing ? Besides, 
Missionaries have done their work : it was for 
them to bring the Gospel to Hindoostan, and 
they did it. It is now time for the converts to 
have their Ministers and Pastors of themselves. 
But men can never become qualified for the Mi- 
nistry, without studying the Bible. On the other 
hand, there is every reason to believe, that, if 
they had free access to the Scriptures, some 
would be soon found competent to teach others. 
It has always been so in every country : they 
were first called and directed by the Mis- 
sionary ; and, after a little time, went on by 
themselves. If the Indians have not yet done 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



441 



so, it is because of their peculiar circumstances : 
the former possessors of the country have been 
generally their enemies : their degradation pa- 
ralyzes them. Do you make a great effort, 
and lift them but a little, and you will soon find 
that they will awake and put on their strength: 
they will shake themselves from the dust and 
arise (Is. lii. 1,2): they will advance rapidly in 
knowledge, and go on without your aid.* 
Should we, however, be deceived in our hope 
of seeing them organized, and regular Pastors 
administering the Holy Ordinances, it is at all 
events impossible to believe, that the people, 
with the Scripture in their possession, would 
long remain in their present deplorable con- 
dition : they would read it in their houses : 
they would teach it their children : they would 
talk of it in the way ; and men who can do 
this, have ceased to be contemptible. 

Come then, Beloved Brethren: begin the 
year well. Before many more returns of the 
present day, you will, many of you, have left 
the country: if this opportunity be neglected, 
you will not perhaps have the satisfaction of 
recollecting, that you ever did any thing for the 
good of India. You must also reflect, and it is 

* This, however, is dubious. Swartz and Gericke, as well 
as the Roman- Catholic Priests, were of opinion, that European 
Teachers would be always necessary. 



442 



TWENTIETH SEIiMOX. 



a proper reflection for the beginning of the 
year, that death will soon put a period to your 
opportunities : your wealth will soon be of no 
use to you: therefore, while life lasts, make it 
the instrument of happiness to thousands. 

There is no room for apprehension that you 
will excite a commotion. The persons for whom 
we plead call our Lord theirs, and hold his 
Word in the same veneration as we do. They 
will not eye with suspicion the Sacred Volume; 
but seize it with delight, as a book which they 
have often longed to see. 

The undertaking, in which we urge you to 
engage, has nothing in the nature of it, at which 
any one can reasonably demur. The means of 
accomplishing the desired purpose are unex- 
ceptionable : the success is certain ; for God 
himself hath declared concerning the word 
which goeth forth out of his mouth, that it shall 
not return void: it shall accomplish that which I 
jjlease. and it shall prosper in the thing whereto 
I sen t it (Is. lv. 11). The frame of heaven may 
pass away — much more then the schemes of 
men : but my words, said Christ, shall not pass 
away (Matt. xxiv. 35). 

You may also be assured of their gratitude 
and attachment. Even now, though they are 
kept at such a distance from us that they 
scarcely dare call its Brethren, it is a secret 



CHRISTIAN INDIA. 



44S 



satisfaction to them, that their Governors are 
Christians: how desirable that the attachment 
of these harmless people should be made of 
importance J* But this is a topic which it is not 
our province to enlarge upon: we rather exhort 
you to be instrumental in saving souls. While 
we are preaching, they are perishing : therefore, 
lose no time. 

Let us reflect a moment upon the unhappy 
state of those who live without a Bible, but 
especially of those who die without one. Ima- 
gine the sad situation of a sick or dying Chris- 
tian, who has just heard enough of eternity to 
be afraid of death, and not enough of a Saviour 
to look beyond it with hope : he cannot call for 
a Bible to look for something to support him, 
or ask his wife or child to read him a con- 
solatory chapter: the Bible, alas! is a treasure, 
which they never had the happiness to pos- 
sess. Oh pity their distress ? You, who have 

* There was an insurrection of the Nayrs in Travancore, in th© 
year 1806, against the Rajah. Three battalions of his Nayr Body 
Guards revolted, and sought to kill the British Resident; and the 
Rajah and the present Minister, Colonel M., fled to Cochin. The 
Rajah called the Christian Fishermen from the coast, to defend 
him against the Nayrs. They assembled at Travandram, in 
immense numbers, each man armed wilh a short bludgeon. The 
bowmen from the hills appeared, at the same time, in the Rajah's 
behalf; and the Nayrs laid down their arms and fled. About 
fifty of the ringleaders were seized and hanged, Dr. Buchanev'g 
Letters from the Cca*f, 



444 



TWENTIETH SERMON. 



hearts to feel for the miseries of your fellow- 
creatures — you, who have discernment to see, 
that a wounded spirit is far more agonizing than 
any earth-begotten woes — you, who know that 
you too must one day die — Oh give unto him, 
what may comfort him in a dying hour! The 
Lord who loves our brethren, who gave his life 
for them and for you, who gave you the Bible 
before them, and now wills that they should 
receive it from you — He will reward you. 
They cannot recompense you ; but you shall he 
recompensed at the resurrection of the just. The 
King Himself will say to you, Inasmuch as ye 
have done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me. 



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